Long Time, No See!

Hello, Friends and Followers!

Gosh, I didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted on my blog. Let me catch you up a bit:

In January 2017, hubby John and I, along with daughter Emily and her husband Josh, boarded the Adventure of the Seas for a week-long Caribbean cruise that turned into a bit of a nightmare.

John apparently contracted Influenza A (despite a flu shot) and then had a post-flu inflammation of his quadriceps muscles (thighs) that caused him to be suddenly unable to walk. He spent 3 weeks in the hospital, followed by 3 weeks in rehab/nursing home; he came home February 27 and has been working to get his strength back. What a journey it has been, for both of us!

Necessarily, my crafting mojo has had to take a very back seat. I was able to get in just ONE cardmaking class in February, just before my beloved "Scatter Joy Center for the Arts" closed permanently at the end of February. I will always be grateful to Kathy Davis and Bill Lessa, for believing in me and giving me the venue to teach cardmaking to community residents.

Meanwhile, I made the difficult decision to step away from my Close To My Heart business and "Paper Jungle" team so that I could re-group under a new upline. Everyone's needs are different, and I found over the past four years that I needed to be part of a larger team (upline and above) that inspired me and recognized me and my team for our achievements.  CTMH requires that when a Consultant step down as I did, she must wait out 3 months before rejoining. UGH, it's the hardest part -- but the distractions of John's health made the timing bearable. 

I'll be rejoining CTMH on May 1, and will be happy to announce some new classes and challenges then. In the meantime, if you've ever considered joining, please come along with me on this VERY fun journey, and grow with us! Drop a line to me at cardmonkey@comcast.net for more info.  OH, and there's a terrific join-up special happening in May, whether you're a returning former Consultant, or if you're brand new.  Let me show you...

May 2017 is "National Papercrafting Month."  In celebration, CTMH has developed a brand new and VERY special paper pack called "Live Beautifully."  This layout kit (shown below) is FREE to everyone who joins or rejoins CTMH in May 2017. This is a $44.95 USD value!!  FREE!  

In addition to getting this beautiful layout kit, New Consultants receive a medium organizer chock-full of key supplies for crafting, catalogs to get your parties started, PLUS $50 of "Select Product Credit" to buy CTMH goodies of your choosing. All this for only $75 joiner fee. Seriously!  It's like being paid to join!  I can't wait to get back, as I love, love, love the papers being introduced on May 1 in the "Seasonal Expressions 2" catalog, and then there will be MORE goodies coming with the new annual catalog this summer.  (Yes, I am an addict. A craft hoarder. I need a 12"x12" step program!)

OH, and I'm just waiting for a new location to firm up before I announce a MONTHLY cardmaking class that will be local to me.  Stay tuned!

Thank you for the recognition!

Awarded Feb. 11, 2011

I am honored to have won the "Stylish Blogger Award". It was passed on to me from Janice at


http://www.cricutology.blogspot.com/.

Update: At the same time that Janice passed this super-award to me, Amanda at http://www.stellarscraps.blogspot.com did too.  Thank you for such sweetness, Amanda -- and I do appreciate the double-recognition!  I sure hope this doesn't mean I need to tell you another 8 interesting things about me, because that would be B-O-R-I-N-G!  LOL!

Here is the "rub" with this award. I am to link back (above) to the site that gave me this award; tell you 8 things that you may not have known about me previously; and also, pass this award on to 8 bloggers whose work I admire. 

Without further ado, here are those 8 things about me:

1. I just became a grandmother in December 2010. Darling Charlotte Grace is a true delight!


2. I met my husband, John, on-line WAY before it became popular ... even before there were on-line dating services, E-Bay, or Google.  We met in 1994 via the Prodigy bulletin board service.  We married 5 years later, a second (last!) marriage for each of us.


3. Years ago, I swam competitively. My specialty stroke was butterfly.


 4.  I was born in the middle of a hurricane -- and life has been a whirlwind since!


5. I dye my hair brown so it looks blonde. No bleach/peroxide needed. Go figure!


6. Twenty-five years ago, I had to have the lower half of my face removed. 300 stitches later, I don't think you can see any scars. Talk about "Extreme Face Makeover!!" 


7. I am an elected official in my township (population: 35,000) ... and won in a landslide in 2007. 


8. I aspire to one day write the Great American Novel. 

Now, for the bloggers I've recently discovered and enjoy, to whom I am passing on this award (in no particular order):

1. Ashley at http://www.scraptasticideas.blogspot.com/
2. Brynn at http://www.flairandfrillscreativity.blogspot.com/
3. Sarah at http://www.simplyshaddock.blogspot.com/
4. Sue at http://www.susanascorner.blogspot.com/
5. Kacee at http://www.youhadmeatscrap.blogspot.com/
6. Shawn at http://www.craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/
7. Erika at http://www.cricutlove1.blogspot.com/
8. Corri at http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com/

Ladies, please claim your award, and pay it forward!
Make it a Crafty Day.