Cleaning Day!

Boy does my house need some serious work! I've took some time to clean this morning while Cameron was at school. So far only the kitchen, front room, my bedroom and craft room are clean (this one still needs a little work)! I can FINALLY see the top of my scrap table! You don't know how excited this makes me. Perhaps now I can get something done! I've been feeling so BLAH lately over my house being a mess so I decided to finally tackle it. The bathrooms are calling me, but I just don't want to answer them quite yet.

Cameron was messing around with my camera just a little while ago so I decided to take some pictures of him when he was done playing. I will share what he wanted to take pictures of too.

Here are Cameron's ideas for the day!

So I have finally added something new to my blog. I hope you all enjoy the pictures! Cameron was sure having fun. He loves to take the camera and pretend he is a spy. Some of the pictures he takes he thinks are very funny...however, they aren't. I would share one with you, but I will spare you...it's a picture of the cats' rearend! Funny to a six year old...not his mom.

Good-bye sag!

We finally got our mattress warrantied in the guest room. We bought this mattress almost 2 years ago from R.C. Willey and it has sort of been sagging since we bought it, but it wasn't used too much so we didn't think much of it. Well, now that Michael has been in it we finally decided to do something about it. The guy came out to take measurements and whatnot so the mattress company could decide whether they would warranty it or not. It turns out if you have any stains on the mattress it voids your warranty. Well, we got rejected the first time because it had some stains from when our dogs were living here. We had to pay $67 to have someone come out and steam clean it. They called the other day and told us that they are going to exchange it for us.

Today after our neighbors funeral service we went to check out new mattresses. We ended up spending more, but I think it will be worth it. There will be no more rolling into eachother when we sleep on that bed and it will be more comfortable for any guests that use it too. It will arrive on Tuesday! We bought a mattress pad from them as well because they will come out and clean the mattress if any stains get through the pad. If they can't get the stain out they will replace the mattress for free. I think the $60 will be worth it, although, we don't have the dogs anymore to really worry about staining.

I just spoke briefly of my neighbor passing. My neighbor Bill passed away Monday night at his home. He had surgery the week before and was home doing well. His wife heard a noise as he was getting ready for bed and went to check on him. He was on his knees and looked up at her and fell over backwards. The doctor thinks that he had an embolism or a blood clot (something like that). His wife, Barbara tried CPR, but the doctor did tell her that it wouldn't have helped him as the blood clot is instant death. Bill was a wonderful neighbor. He was a quiet man, but had a big heart. Bill always cleared our walkways and driveway when it snowed. He was 68 and didn't like it if we did his driveway because he said it was his job to do it for us. His sons bought him a snowblower for Christmas and after he got it he came over to tell us since Michael was down not to worry about the drive because he would just blow it all away for us. Well, Bill never got a chance to use it since he had his surgery before the first snowfall.

Bill will be remembered every Spring and Summer when his yard is in bloom. Those of you that have seen his yard know what I mean. He had TONS of flowers and spent most of his days outside tending to them. He would not stop until his yard was complete. He came over after Michael was home and told us that he took care of alot of the spring stuff already for the yard. I know that he was out there mulching it and whatever else a beautiful garden needs before winter really started.

It's going to be very difficult for Barbara now that he is no longer on the Earth with her. I told her I would help her take care of her flowers. She said that she loves to garden, but she always let Bill do it because he had his own ways. Now we will get to see Barbara's love for gardening emerge.

Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

I've been tagged!

I've just been tagged by the wonderful Heather D. White!!

The rules for this particular tagging are as follows: Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.

1. Courtney

2. Leah

3. Heidi Z.

4. Heather

5. Stacy

Then you get to select 5 people to pass the love on to. I'll chose five super talented super nice gals:

1. Shannon

2. Bree

3. Kathy M

4. Cindi

5. Katie

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Hmm, that was so long ago. What was I doing? I was planning my wedding! It will be 10 years on April 20th!

What were you doing 1 year ago?
Not too much actually! I was still getting used to living here in Utah.

Five snacks you enjoy (in no particular order, as all snacks are created equal):
1. Red licorice
2. Cashews
3. Apples
4. Mike & Ikes
5. Trail mix

Five songs in which you KNOW all the lyrics:
1. Here I Am To Worship (Phillips, Craig and Dean)
2. Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (Jack Johnson)
3. Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi)
4. I Want to Live (Josh Gracin)
5. Invisible (Clay Aiken)

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Pay off my house
2. Pay off my car
3. Set up fund for Cameron's college
4. Travel!
5. Give money to many charities

Five bad habits:
1. Having to have my house perfect at all times or I go crazy! (I'm going crazy right now)
2. Spending too much money
3. Picking at my split ends. ( I need a haircut badly!)
4. Leaving things out on my bathroom counter when I am done with them.
5. Cracking my knuckles

Five things you like doing:
1. Spending time with my family
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Reading
4. Organizing
5. Hoarding recipes! (I really need to try more of them!)

5 things you would never wear, buy or get again:
1. Spandex! (No explaination needed)
2. Umm, can't think of anything else. Spandex is all that popped into my head!

Five favorite toys:
1. Printer
2. Camera
3. Pampered Chef chopper
4. All my stampin/scrappin stuff
5. Crockpot???

An outing!

Today was Michael's first outing with me. We went to lunch at Red Robin and then stopped at his office for him to say hello. He said it was great to finally get out of the house for awhile. It wasn't as difficult as we thought it was going to be either! He did say that I insulted him before we left...I gave him a jacket. However, this jacket is his Special Olympics jacket. His company supports the Special Olympics...thus the reason for the jacket. It was the only jacket hanging up that wouldn't be too terribly warm. He then had to tell everyone at work that I gave him the jacket because he was in a wheelchair.

Hopefully he is going to want to go out a little more often now that we know we can do it. I did get his temporary disabled parking permit today to make things easier too. I didn't do it until after we got home from our outing though.

I haven't been doing much of anything so far this year. I've cleaned my house, read a book and that is about all. I do want to start creating things again. I hope things slow down around here soon.

Michael is having a hard time getting his coumadin levels at a therapeutic level. They are having him take more coumadin each day and coming out for another blood draw on Thursday. His blood isn't thin enough for what they want it to be at yet. We only have enough of the medication to last us until Sunday too.

Well, that is all I wanted to report. I hope all is well with everyone!

Well, a New Year and a New Break

Michael had his first follow up at the orthopedics office today. We found out why his right ankle has been bothering him so much when he does his physical therapy and walks to the bathroom. It is broken! They didn't catch it when he had the accident because they didn't actually take an ankle x-ray. They did take one of the foot, but that didn't show anything. The doctor said ideally surgery would be the best thing to do, but gave him a walking boot to see if that helps somewhat. They will take another x-ray in 4 weeks when we go back to see if it is helping. Not too good of news today!

They took out the staples and stitches today. He was afraid that was going to hurt pretty badly, but it wasn't too terrible. He also found out that the doctors don't have any plans to remove any of the rods and screws that is holding him together right now. The doctor said if he was 20 they would talk about removing them, but at his age they would rather leave them in. I guess he would have a greater chance of things breaking again if they were to take everything out.

Well, that was our day in a nutshell! Tomorrow Michael is on his own at home for the first time. Gary, his co-worker, bought a small fridge for us to use in the family room. I've filled it with water, juice and soda so he can help himself. I will also make him a lunch that he can just pull out of there too. I hope he doesn't have to be home by himself too much in the next coming weeks. I feel bad for him! His father is supposed to be coming out sometime in the near future so that will be nice.

December 29th

Well, my brother and sister-in-law left this morning. We are hoping that they don't hit the big storm that is supposed to be coming from the West coast. It was so good to have them here. We hadn't seen them for a year since we had been home for Christmas last year.

Michael is doing better each day. He started physical therapy on Tuesday and can get out of the couch on his own now. His isn't taking as many pain pills either which is nice. He basically is only taking his extended relief ones every 12 hours. His coumadin levels aren't where they want them to be so he is taking alternate doses of those each day. He will have his levels checked again tomorrow and have another physical therapy session. It's so nice that they come to the house and we don't have to worry about getting him anywhere.

His first follow-up appointment is on January 4th and they are supposed to be taking him there via Gold Cross cabulance. We just have to wait and see if that gets approved by the insurance.

We've received 2 statements so far for the hospital...they sure aren't slow at getting those out. The hospital flight was just under $6,000 and one anesthesia statement was $2,000. Thank goodness for insurance!

I am thinking of putting away our Christmas decor today and getting my house back into it's normal order (as normal as it can be.) I went out today and bought a few red and green totes to store our stuff in. We've had the same cardboard boxes forever and they are falling apart. I figured this would look better in our storage area too....because we know how important storage area appearances are!

HE'S HOME!!!

Michael was finally able to come home late Thursday night! It took some time, but we made it! Michael was brought home by a cabulance. We have a hospital bed in our family room for him and so far it is working out fine except for the fact that it is made for a little person. He keeps hitting his feet against the footboard.

The home health nurse came yesterday to go over a few things with us and have us sign some documents. The physical therapist and someone to draw some blood should be here today. We don't know when but that is what we were told. Michael has his next doctor visit on January 4th. They will be taking out stitches and just looking him over at that time.

Michael hasn't been taking as many pain meds during the day either! That's a great sign that things are improving a little bit. I just hope he isn't trying to be macho though. He has some anticoagulation shots that he needs to have twice a day and for some reason I am not able to give them to him. Poor Michael has to give them to himself. At least he doesn't mind. I just can't get myself to get over the fact that I might hurt him.

We've received some very nice floral arrangements, fruit baskets, candy baskets and plants from people all over the country. Most of them have been from Carquest associates. It's so nice to see that his company is so caring.

Michael's dad wants him to find out how much coverage the other guy had to possibly sue for pain and suffering and whatever else people sue for. We need to look into our legal insurance to see if it would pay for any attorney's fees or if we would have to. I think things will be complicated by the fact that this is a workers' comp case too.

Well, I am off to downstairs to see how Michael is doing this morning. It sounds like he is up by the way he is clearing his throat.

Tuesday Morning

When I finally saw Michael after work yesterday he said it wasn't a very good day. He wasn't up on his pain meds when the physical therapist came to work on him. Hopefully today will be much better.

When his mom and my brother were there yesterday they spoke with the social worker about getting the home necessities for when he his discharged. They are going to look into it. They are also going to look into seeing if the physical therapy he needs will be able to be done at home with a therapist. That would be very nice then we wouldn't have to load him into the car each time.

I'm thankful that this is a worker's comp case and that we won't have to pay for anything. We might have to pay $40 to have the hospital bed delivered, but I bet his company would pay for that too. His boss told me that he doesn't want us in any financial burden and if there is anything we need just to let them know. You can believe that I will be doing that.

I woke up this morning thinking of what I want to serve for Christmas dinner. It looks like turkey again. I was going to do prime rib, but with Adam and Jenn here it would cost me about $60 for the meat and I just don't want to spend that much!

I'm going to be hanging out at the hospital most of the day today and meeting Adam and Jenn for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. My brother has been talking about this since they got here so I suggested it last night. I may even take something back for Michael if he feels up to it.

Monday Morning

We went to visit Michael yesterday and he looked good! He is off his PCA (pain machine) and all IV's. His catheter is out too! He has been having physical therapy since Saturday and is progressing quite nicely. The first time they worked with him they had him walk to the door of his room with the walker. The therapist said it took at least 20 minutes just to get there. We were with him yesterday when she was working with him and he was able to walk out past the door and back in about 10 minutes. He even did it without the extra pain medicine.

I have a few questions on the board of his room for his case manager. I'm trying to request a hospital bed, toilet lift, transportation to therapy and doctor visits and a seat for the tub. I hope most of those are available to use through the insurance. I don't know why they wouldn't be, but you never know.

They had talked about discharging him today, but the nurse last night said that she really didn't think he was ready. He sort of agreed. He was hoping to have progressed further by today, but these things take time. She said that they therapist has to check off a bunch of things before they can discharge him. He has to be able to climb some stairs and get over the edge of a tub. I definitely think having a seat in the shower will be the easiest since he can sit on that then move his bad leg in.

Michael's mom is leaving today and I will be at work. Adam and Jenn will be picking her up from the hospital and taking her to the airport for me. It's been great to see them again! Cameron is loving that they are here. They took him to see King Kong yesterday and out to shop and play. He had a great time, but he was still pretty wired when we got back from the hospital.

Wel, I need to go dry my hair and get ready for work. I also need to look outside and see if I need to shovel the driveway since it was snowing when we went to bed last night.

Saturday AM

I saw Michael yesterday and when we got there he was complaining about the nurse not knowing what she was doing with his pain machine. He was in a LOT of pain and we looked at the machine and it was stopped with no medication left in it. We told the nurse it was empty and she said it still had some in it...well, she went and got another nurse who told her it was empty and they replaced it. It took quite some time for his pain to go away again. He has been used to being able to push the button every 15 minutes to help out.

His mom and I sat around all day waiting for the physical therapist to come in. We were told that they would be in between 2-3 and when 5 rolled around we asked again. It turns out it was never ordered. He wasn't too thrilled and neither were we. We hadn't eaten since breakfast...actually I hadn't eaten since the night before. So, physical therapy is supposed to happen some time this morning. They want him sitting up in a chair and doing some other things. We wanted to be there to find out what he should be doing.

After we got home last night I left to get Michael another Christmas gift. I still had some more shopping to do for him and one of the things I was going to get him was a pedometer. However, I didn't think that would be a nice gift since he won't be really walking for a few months. I decided to call him on my way out shopping and he wanted me to come back up to see him. I told him I would be there in the morning and didn't really feel like driving all the way back uptown.

The doctor told him he may be discharged on Monday. I would love for that to be true. My brother and sister-in-law drove down from WA yesterday...at least that is what my mom thinks. I didn't call to verify, but I will be happy to see them when they get here. They are going to be here for Christmas and Michael can't wait for that. They are totally fun to be around and we miss them VERY much.

Well, I am going to hit the shower, eat some breakfast and head up to the hopsital. We will be taking Cameron with us today so hopefully he will be good enough to hang out there. We may have to turn on the tv to keep him occupied!

Pictures of the wreck

I can't believe my husband walked away from this!! I'm so happy that the Lord decided it wasn't his time to go!


Michael FINALLY had surgery tonight to fix his arm and tighten a screw in his knee. I wasn't able to see him before he went in for surgery since I worked today, but I just called and everything went smoothly. He had been battling a temperature of 102.7 for awhile Wednesday night so I was hoping he would get to have surgery sometime today. He finally went in at 5:30! His mother said that she had never seen anyone so happy to be having surgery.

I don't have much to update, but I just received these pictures tonight and though some of you would like to see what he lived through.

On top of all this, Shannon called me today at 11:00 something to ask if I wanted her to pick up Cameron from daycare. The daycare caught fire today (in the janitors closet...I don't know how bad the damage is) but the kids all had to evacuate and go home. The daycare called her because they thought I would be at the hospital. So, Dear Shannon picked him up and took her to her house until after dinner. He was a little upset because they wouldn't let him get his blanket and he is all worried that it caught fire and he won't ever be able to have it again. I've tried to reassure him that that isn't the case.

Well, it is 11:00 and I am going to bed!

Wednesday Update

Well, Michael still isn't scheduled for surgery on his arm yet. I went to work today to get away and get some ME time even though it was really patient time. Shannon brought Cameron to my work at 12:30 so I could take him to see him on my lunch hour. I figured it would be a good time since he isn't too drugged up and if he had surgery later this week it would be longer until Cameron could see him.

Cameron was SOOOO excited to get to his room. He didn't want me to stop to use the bathroom, but I sort of forced him...well, not really forced, but you know. When we finally got up there he was smiling and said "Hi Dad!" They gave eachother high fives and all was good. Cameron was a little shy about the IV tubing and didn't want to ask daddy about it, but all was great after I told him it was just medicine to help him get better faster. We didn't stay too long, but he was looking AWESOME!

I had dropped his mom off at the hospital before work and then when I went back at lunch I took her and Cameron back to my house. While she was there she made everyone stay out for 2.5 hours so Michael could get some well deserved rest. I think that is just what he needed. He is very messed up on his days and hours. When I went back after work he thought it was morning and he was totally grumpy because the doctors and nurses had been in bothering him and not letting him sleep. I stayed until about 7:30 and then wanted to get home to be with Cameron for awhile.

Well, I am going to go be with him now, but thought I would do a quick update.

Yesterday was not a happy day!

I decided to post here for things so I don't have to keep typing to let people know how Michael is or have to keep calling people to update them.

Yesterday morning started out as any morning. I left the house at 7 to get to work by 7:30. I was very early as we didn't have patients until 9:00, but I had forgotten this fact. Around 8:15 I got a phone call and I couldn't understand what the person was saying. Then I realized it was Michael, but I still couldn't understand him. I asked him to say what he said again and then all I heard was "Michael. Bad Accident." I asked him if there was someone around that I could speak to and he handed the phone to someone. That person told me that he was in a bad car accident and tried to tell me where he was located. I was drawing a blank on where the position was (it was very close to home). After he told me he must have thought that he hung up the phone. Well, he didn't and the phone called me back. I was unable to hang up the phone since his phone was off the hook. Needless to say I was able to hear everything that was happening. I had to listen to Michaels screams of pain. I heard him tell someone that his left leg was all twisted and under his right leg. Then I heard him say that he was bleeding very badly on his leg and he was trying to hold pressure to get it to stop.

I kept yelling into the phone trying to see if they could hear something, but there was too much going on to hear me. In the mean time I am freaking out trying to find my boss' number to tell him I was at the office and what was going on. After I did that I called my dad to find numbers for Michael's parents because they aren't stored in my head or my phone. I was finally able to get ahold of his mother and eventually his dad called me back. I listened to the phone and what was happening for about 45 minutes until they hung up the phone. I was listening to see if I could hear where they might be taking him. After awhile it sounded like they were in a helicopter...and indeed they were. He and the other driver were lifeflighted to some downtown hospitals. They were taken to different ones and neither hospital knew who they were receiving so it was another long haul to find out where my husband was going.

After I found out for sure where he was at, one of my co-workers drove me to the hospital and stayed with me while I tried to find out what was going on. The social worker told me that both of his legs were pretty damaged and that he was going in for a cat scan and I could see him in about 45 minutes. I was pretty worried about his right leg since he hurt that pretty badly almost 4 years ago. However, she was wrong and it turned out to be his left leg only. He ended up breaking the left hip, left femur and right arm (the ulna).

Let me say that the picture above looks much worse than it probably was...they had to cut the roof off the car to get him out. The driver of the other car also broke his femur. It was the other guy's fault, but he hit a patch of black ice and over-corrected causing him to hit Michael pretty much head on. The police officer said that there were no skid marks so Michael had no time to respond to what was happening.

He went in for surgery around 3:20 and was out around 6:15. The doctor came and showed me his xrays. They are giving his hip 50% chance of surviving. They need the blood supply to be restored. It will be about 3-4 months before we know what is going on with it. If it does in fact die he will need a hip replacement.

They didn't fix his arm yet. The reason was there were way too many trauma cases brought in from terrible accidents that they fixed what was critical on him and are planning on fixing his arm tomorrow.

Michael's mom flew in last night and got to the hospital just as the doctor was explaining the surgery to me. Michael's co-worker Gary was with me most of the day and he is dealing with the insurance and everything for me. Fortunately this is most likely going to be work related and taken care of by Worker's Comp and the other guys insurance.

Today we went up and saw him and he looked a lot better and was more alert. The pain meds he is on isn't helping too much. He really wants his arm fixed soon as that is what is causing him the most pain right now.

Cameron has been staying with a wonderful friend of mine, Shannon. He really wants to see Michael, but I am not ready for that just yet. I told him that I would try to take him up on Friday. He told me that he just wants to give him a hug and a kiss to make him feel better. If that doesn't make you cry I don't know what will.

On a side note, Michael lost his glasses in the accident so I ran to the eye doctor today to order the same pair that he had lost. They are going to try to have it ready by Friday. This would be nice since by Friday he may be sitting up enough to want to watch tv or something. I wasn't sure how to take care of paying for it since I don't have workers comp case number yet, but his co-worker told me to use Michael's company credit card and get them that way.

His company has been awesome. The presidents son called Gary and told him that they are going to do everything that they can for me and for Michael. Everyone has been a Godsend!

I want to thank all of you for your support and prayers through this rough time!

My Christmas Decor

Before I had Cameron our Christmas tree was very pretty with ribbons, bows, same color bulbs (red/silver or gold/silver). I never wanted to have a tree that was a mismatch of ornaments...well that changed when we had Cameron. I remembered my tree growing up with all the ornaments that my brother and I had made throughout the years and wanted Cameron to have the same feeling later too. So, I have put away all the ribbons and bows and have started to buy a few ornaments here and there that are different. Cameron picks out an ornament every year and it usually has to do with something that he is into for the year. He wants a Buzz Lightyear ornament this year (Hallmark is out and I have to try to get him one the week before Christmas..that's when they told me I could have the one on display)...he isn't into Buzz this year, but he LOVES his Woody & Bullseye ornament and told me that we need a Buzz to go with it.

Okay, I posted my pictures above. I made the wreath a few years ago and still love it. The stocking was a gift to my husband years ago too. I have the patterns to make one for Cameron and myself, but I haven't gotten around to it. So, our stockings are the red and white fluffy Santa type.

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!

I have two of my 3 trees up! I just couldn't wait until after Thanksgiving this year. I think not decorating last year has something to do with it. I just wasn't in the Christmas spirit last year until about one week before the big day. The only thing I hate about decorating is the mess!

I will be buying some Christmas storage totes this year when they go on sale. I'm tired of dealing with all the cardboard boxes!!!

Cameron has this thing with nutcrackers. You should have seen his eyes light up when he came across them in the box. I don't know what his fascination is with them, but he's liked them since he was about 2. There is a decorating store here that has a bunch of big ones and he loves to go over to them and just stare and play with the littler ones.

Well, on Friday I will be putting up another tree in our dining room. I can't wait for the decorating to be over!!

The CRAZY husband got his system!

I went and took some oatmeal, yogurt and coffee up to Michael on Tuesday morning. I hadn't heard from him since the night before so I was hoping all was well. When I arrived he was sitting next to the propane heater trying to keep warm. He ended up only sleeping for about an hour. We don't know what the temperature got to that night, but his car was frozen in the morning. Around 9:15 Circuit City came out and handed vouchers to the people waiting in line. He was for sure getting one. I could tell that he was pretty excited.

When the doors finally opened at 10:00 I was there with him. Man, those people went running through the doors to get one of the few controllers that they were selling and some games. Michael got one of the controllers and a game. I had to run off to get to work. When I got home Michael was playing with his new toy and didn't turn it off until around 8:30!

I'm sure there will be quite a bit of xbox playing this weekend since he is home now until Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We will be eating dinner at Shannon's house tomorrow! See you soon Shannon!

My husband is CRAZY!!!

Holy Heck...Michael is camped out in front of Circuit City right now to get his hands on the new Xbox 360 that comes out tomorrow! Circuit City is going to have 15 of them and he is #14 line. I had to take the propane heater, some coffee, the air mattress, and a scarf up to him. He had already packed his sleeping bag, down coat, gloves and other things with him. He also had me run to Game Crazy to pick up a few games for him. So, I bought 2 games that he will be able to play when he finally wakes up sometime tomorrow. Circuit City isn't opening until 10:00 tomorrow morning so I get to run more coffee up to him and some breakfast after I drop the little man off at school. What a boy won't do to get his toys! I hope he doesn't expect much for Christmas this year. We were supposed to be saving to go to Disneyland in March!

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight was our night to carve our pumpkins. Cameron thinks touching the pumpkin "guts" is disgusting so he refused to even try...we did however, eventually get him to reach his hand in with the promise of a cookie. Yes, I bribe my son.

Cameron picked out the designs that we used on each pumpkin. My pumpkin was all finished and when I was wiping it off the bottom of one of the hands broke off so Michael cut the other one to make it look the same. I guess it looks ok, but not how it should look. I hate it when things go wrong...I was pretty upset over a stupid pumpkin. We do not have a tripod so we tried a few times to hold our breath and take a picture of the pumpkins and it still turned out blurry. This is the best shot.

Birthday party SUCCESS

Cameron had a BLAST at his party. He was thrilled to finally become 6 years old. I think he thought it was a magic number of some sort. Look at this big grin as his friends were singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

The best part of the party for him was the gifts. He knows that he gets to open up the gifts after the cake so as soon as he was finished eating his pizza he wanted cake. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes before we did the cake though. He received lots of Star Wars toys and a VERY noisy electric guitar with a microphone from one of his friends. This will be an outside toy for sure! I suppose I could banish him to the basement when he wants to play.

Michael bought some big punching balloons for the boys (8 of them) to play with. I think Michael bought them because he wanted them for himself. Look at how much fun they were having on the trampoline.

I wonder what the theme for next years party. I do know that I will be buying the cake next year. Too much trouble to have to make it yourself and I am too hard on myself when it doesn't turn out like I imagined.

T minus 210 minutes

To Cameron's party. We have finished his cake...it turned out OK, not like I wanted it to, but it works and he likes it so that's all that matters. Here is what it looks like....it's sort of dark because if I used the flash it was way too washed out.

No girls allowed!!

That is what Cameron is saying about his birthday party. Oh the joys of having a boy! We are having Cameron's 6th birthday party tomorrow. We decided to make the cake this year to save some money...I hope it turns out okay. He wants a Star Wars cake and wants to stick some new action figures on top of it. If it turns out good I will post a picture...if it doesn't I won't! We ran some errands today and bought the goodies for the goodie bags. What fun!

Well, off to clean the house. I have decided NOT to mop the floors until after the party. I've learned in the past that this is totally pointless!

A project from August

I thought I posted this rag edge quilt on here, but looking back I don't see it. I was reminded by it because it is keeping me warm right now as I sit here at my computer.

The front picture doesn't look all that great...I didn't bother smoothing it out on the floor before I took the picture. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this quilt! It is so warm and cozy. Cameron loves it and steals it most nights when he goes to bed.

Front 

Back 

Relaxation!

What a great weekend! We were up at Homestead in Midway, UT. Michael had a business conference...he had been planning this conference since April and was very happy that it was almost over.

While he was at the conference I just sort of hung out and did nothing! I went do the little towns of Midway and Heber to look around. Then I hung out in our room and worked on some cards, read a book, finished a blanket that I had been working on since Christmas, got a pedicure and slept! The last night there he had hired a company to come in to do a casino night. That was so much fun! I was at the same craps table all night long. I started out with $250 in play money and was up over $400 at one point! Oh what fun!

The pictures below are from our trip home. We decided to not go the highway route, but to go over Guardsmans Pass out of Park City. The first picture is from the first little pull out area...we got out and it sure was windy and VERY VERY cold. It was such a pretty sight to see. Then we traveled further up the pass to the dirt road...that was SO VERY bumpy! I thought my car was going to rattle apart. When we got to the very top of the pass (I think it is Big Cottonwood Canyon) we got out again and it was even colder and this time snowing! Thank goodness for car heaters!

It sure was nice to get away for a few nights. We even got a free night to use sometime before May. We may just have to plan another getaway!

Looking East 

Top of the Pass 

Weekend Retreat

WAHOO!! My weekend is almost here! I am going to Homestead this weekend for some R&R! I've been looking forward to this for so long...since last year actually when we went the first time. I plan on working on some cards, doing some scrapping, finishing up on some reading, sleeping, getting a pedicure, possibly a massage, working on Christmas gifts, the list goes on and on!

A big thank you to my friend Shannon who will be tending Cameron! You are a great friend!

Well, off to start packing!

My newest favorite website!!

Silver Jewelery Club

This site is awesome and has great quality jewelry! I ordered two pieces the other day and they arrived today. I am constantly on this website looking at the newest things. They show new things every 15 minutes and you only pay for shipping. Shipping is $5.99, but well worth it! I hope you become just as addicted as myself!! You do need to be careful about the rings though as they are only offered in one size...just make sure it is your size before you order.

Updating the ol' reading list

I have slowed down the last month and a half on reading. I've been trying to occupy my time with other things, but it seems like I am on the computer a LOT more than I was before...I don't like that either. I can waste away half of the day if I am not watching the time.

Ok, here is the list of things that I have read from August until now.

August
Black Rose by Nora Roberts
High Five by Janet Evanovich

September
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

I just started reading Memoirs of a Geisha today. I am only on chapter 2 so I don't have much to say, but I have only heard very good things about this book. Since it is coming out as a movie soon I figured I better get it off the shelf, dust it off and crack it open.

Stampin' Up!

Each month Stampin' Up! has a few contests for their demonstrators. They have 3 catergories and a general catergory. I decided at the last minute that I was going to try this time. I have no clue if I will even come close to winning, but it is always nice to dream. The prize is any 3 stamp sets out of the catalog that you want! How nice would that be?!?! The card and notepad below were my entries. I thought they turned out pretty darn cute! I would pick myself, but then I'm sure everyone says that.

For You Valentine 

Love Notes scratch pad 

Star Wars Mania

Cameron is so in love with all things Star Wars. He has wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween for quite some time now. Well, one day last week I surprised him with the costume. He had to put it on as soon as we got home. He wanted to wear it to eat dinner, play with friends, do homework and just watch tv. I compromised with him and let him play outside in it for awhile with his friends. Since that day it has been hanging up in his closet awaiting the night of Halloween.

Darth Vader 

I've been getting a lot of emails about the purses!

I think I am onto something here. I've received so many emails from people wanting purses from me. The pink and brown fabric is the most popular. I hope I can fill the orders with it...the material is selling out everywhere I have called.

The green one went to live with a very nice lady tonight. She was so excited to see it in person. It is much prettier in real life.

Green floral 

Pink stripe 

Purse galore!

I am having such a fun time making these bags!! I actually just made two today..one is not posted though. The one that is posted is the breast cancer one...I just sold it too! What fun!

Breast Cancer 

Fun Stripe 

Black & White 

HELLO!!

The Stampin' Up! convention is over and done. I had such a great time hanging out with my friends from WA and meeting new people. I ended up taking 290 swaps and swapping sure was fun! I received some AWESOME new ideas!!

Before convention began my friend and upline, Sherrie, gave me a bag that she made for me to carry my swaps in. Oh my heck was it just the cutest!! It has a black background with bright turquiose, fushia, green and white daisies all over it. I just had to learn how to make these bags too. So, the Tuesday of convention when it was over I headed up home to get my sewing machine and supplies and on Wednesday night I learned how to make them. I made myself a cute black and white floral one with a red insert.

Today I made this adorable one posted below to give to Cameron's new kindergarten teacher on their first day. I think it turned out great! I want to find some things to put inside of it, but I am coming up blank. Any ideas?!?!

Well, I am off to clean up my mess and possibly make another bag...it is still early so I have time.

Teacher Bag 

Hello again

Do you like my hat?! Sorry, that is from Go Dog Go. We've been reading that book lately every night it seems.

Not too much has been going on here. I've still been reading. Here is my updates to add to the list below.
June
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Work and the Glory: Vol. 2 by Gerald Lund
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

July
Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts
Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer by Ann Brashares
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner

I am starting The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger tonight.

I am getting excited for the Stampin' Up! convention to start!! My friends from WA will be arriving on Friday and Saturday! We are going to hit the scrapbook stores around here and hang out. Then on Monday the convention starts. I will be staying downtown with them so I don't have to drive back and forth between SLC and home.

I've been working on swaps. So far I have 125 done with another 25 cut out and waiting on being stamped. I have some ideas to do 50 more. Then I will have 200 to swap. I think that is good enough for my first convention. I'm thinking I will probably come home with some of my own because I don't think they are all that exciting and no one will want them.

Well, off to work on stamping some more stuff. It is HOT here!! I just finally turned on my air and the house was saying it was 85 inside! YIKES!