It's always something, right?

I took my car in for an inspection last week- it failed. I need new ball joints to the tune of $400.

Last night as I was leaving for the Photo Club. I smelled something terrible. Scott apologized (lol).... but it was in fact our hot water heater going. *sigh* I can't even imagine how much that is going to run us!

I can't say I have been doing a great job getting rest. Life is just a non-stop blur of activity. Megan's sleepover was fun. She got the call early on that she did make the travel team as well as all her friends that were staying over so that was some good news. The boys had a great time at Monster Mash. Saturday was Rec basketball evaluations for both boys, then we came home and cleaned for a couple hours. The boys went to the Bruins game Sat night with Sherri's husband and I took the girls to get haircuts and then went grocery shopping. Sunday was church and then trick or treating (see pic below of the 8 kiddos after hot tubbing' and then coming into a house without power). Monday I worked, ran to Ritz to pick up pics, then back to Chester to pick up Victoria, home for an hour or so and then the Photo Club last night!


Working today, tomorrow & Friday... test at the hospital on Thursday!

Yep, it's always something! Have a safe & happy Halloween!

Sad sad sad

We got the call from Dane's coach last night that he didn't make the team. He was crushed and my heart broke for him. He tried to put on a strong front, but I could see it in his face. He isn't sure if he even wants to play on a REC team now and says he wont try out again next year. It makes me so frustrated that he was robbed of this opportunity because he is a good player but now in the 4th grade, he has hung up his basketball shoes. I understand that cuts need to be made but that doesn't make it any easier for me to take that Dane was one of them. Fourth graders shouldnt have to deal with the cold hard reality of life so early on in life.

Megan had her final night out try-outs last night herself. Her sleepover planned for tonight has grown by a few. We are expecting 3-5 girls! I sure hope they can keep things somewhat calm because I am not up for too many wild times right now. Calls for the team should be made tonight and I am nervous with so many of the girls being here! What if one of the girls doesn't make it?

Trick or Treat is Sunday and I am looking forward to getting lots of great pictures and hanging with great friends!

Have an awesome Friday!

Checking in again

Just a quick update. I met Dr Cohen today. He didn't seem overly concerned but did say he would do some further testing including a MIBI Test. Not thrilled about having radiological matter injected into my blood, but I guess its the lesser of two evils if I want answers. Right now the nurse is fighting with my insurance company to get it covered as it requires a prior authorization! I hate insurance companies!

Apparently one of the meds I take (for HBP) can make my Potassium low, so he I agreed I definitely needed to be taking a daily supplement which I started today.

I am still feeling tired but hopefully I will be able to get some rest this weekend (we'll have to wait and see what surprises pop up to eat up my time)!

Off to feed the kids dinner, head to basketball for Megan and Dylan's Den meeting!

Have a great night! :)

Thursday Check In

I think the Morphine must still be in my system, LOL, because I am having the worst time remembering things- like even what day it is. I had to stare at this title for like 5 mins to get the day of the week to come to me!

Anyway, I did see Dr Northcutt yesterday. He prescribed me some potassium supplements. Apparently my lack of potassium could be causing some of the chest pain. Of course, there could be another issue with magnesium that prevents me from ever having enough potassium which I guess we will find out in a month or so. I am seeing a cardiologist in Derry today. Dr Northcutt was going to call him last night and fill him in on the situation. From there I will have a stress text scheduled as well as other things I am sure. It seems like the doctor's are really going to be agressive in finding out what is going on this time and that makes me happy. I want to be well. I don't want to worry that my heart will stop at any moment.

If I am quieter than normal on my favorite digi boards over the next couple weeks, please forgive me. I feel like I have failed at finding balance but regardless, my health must come first. I haven't scrapped the last couple days and I really miss it, but with everything going on, there just isn't time. After my dr's appt today, Megan has basketball tryouts and Dylan has a Den meeting! See? See how there are never enough hours in the day? LOL

Have a great Thursday! I'll try to update again tomorrow!

My "exciting" Tuesday night

Geesh, how do I begin to update today? After I ended my post yesterday, I went upstairs to help Victoria work on her Spanish project. I was laying on the bed and I felt an extreme pressure in my chest. I had Dylan get me the BP cuff and my BP was quite elevated. I felt flushed. I came downstairs and sat at the kitchen table watching Scott start dinner. I felt dizzy and my lips were tingling. I decided that I better not wait. I told him I needed to go to the hospital. He grabbed his keys and we left. We drove to the hospital in silence except for the chattering of my teeth. When we got there, I felt extremely lightheaded and thought I would pass out. The triage center got me in right away. At that point, my BP was 170/110. The nurse brought me back to the trauma room and set me up with an EKG, oxygen and all sorts of other connections. Over the course of 6 hours, I had 2 EKG's, blood work, a cat scan, a chest x-ray, 2 IVs (one for the CT dye and the other for Morphine and Postasium which hurt like heck going in) as well as several medications. After the first dose of Morphine, my BP was at 216/162. The nurse was really alarmed that it was climbing instead of going down. By midnight, though, my BP was back to a "normal high" for me so they let me go home with instructions to see a cardiologist today. Long story short, I will be seeing my PCP at 4pm and hope to work harder to find out why my BP is not managed with the 2 meds I take daily and see if we can find a cause. 33 is too young for this.

I would appreciate your prayers and thanks to my friends who have offered to help me out with the kids and such. Love you all!

Midweek Musings

Hello peeps in blogland! Now that my blog has become so boring, I wonder if I have any readers left, LOL I apologize for my "lack of funny" lately and I promise to get back on my game again soon! Currently, I have a crumb stuck near my C key so please forgive any typos! ;)

I received the most welcome letter in the mail today! My former co-worker Colleen sent me a VERY thick letter! She added a Winnie The Pooh post-it note which reads "Rachael, You know how you have your own blog? Well, this is my "paper blog", my low tech alternative." I was hysterical as I read through her notes about her last days at ATD and I was so thrilled to hear from her because I worried that we would lose touch when we both left. Of course this means I will have to break out the ole pen and paper to write back because a computer typed letter would look so impersonal after receiving this diary of sorts! Making a mental note to add this to my list of things to do! :)

Sketch Challenge #10 is now up at The Digi Chick! You can download a layered version of the sketch from this thread!

Dane had basketball try-outs again last night. It's really hard to guess as to whether or not he will make the team and his coach said he won't start calls till at least Thursday night. :( Does he know what torture this is? Grrrrrrr... (yes, I really do growl in real life, too... it's not just a typing thing!)

Just realized that today is my dog's birthday! She is 3! Happy birthday, Duchess! :)

Well, on that much too exciting note, I am going to close today and potentially work on a layout or two to keep my favorite designers happy with me! :) Have an awesome night!

Saturday Recap

We started the day at basketball try outs for Dane. I think 19 boys showed up for the 10 spots on the team so now I am quite nervous about whether or not he will make it. Dane is feeling pretty confident (which is highly unusual for him) right now. He is definitely a good player but its hard for me to be objective about how he compares to the other kids... I mean, being as he is so cute and all! ;)

I left try outs to grab Megan and bring her back to the school to catch the bus for the State Cross Country Meet. She came in 4th for the town, which is a pretty good ending to a short season.

Around 12:30pm we headed to the Cubmobile Race for Cub Scouts across town. Darn, it was windy and much colder than expected. Once the kids had taken their first run, Mr Trickett asked if anyone hadn't gone and I raised my hand! He laughed and called out to get a car ready for me! I just took one run but it was GREAT! Everyone was yelling "You're going too fast!" but I thought they were joking so I didn't even slow down! :) Yes, I have pictures so watch for a layout soon! :)

Dylan stayed at the race to go to a friend's house afterwards and I took Dane back the baseball field for a game. Thankfully I still had a little battery power left in my camera and I got a few shots of him at bat- right before he made a great hit to center field. He ended up with 2 runs for the day and he was quite pleased with himself.

Katie's Mom brought Megan to the field (Nancy, you rock! Thanks again!). While we were there Megan's friend Aubre called. Long story short, we ended up grabbing new clothes for Megan and heading over there to drop her off for the night. While we were chatting, Dane was playing with the dog. Riley had a tug toy and when he went to grab it from Dane, he got Dane's hand. Dane came back to the car and was crying. It was chaos for a second there while I tried to figure out what was going on and then I saw blood. OF COURSE I had to look away. I know I would have passed right out in the driveway. Sylvie took Dane in the house, cleaned his finger up and put a bandaid on. It was bruising already but Dane had calmed down so off we went to the other side of town to get Dylan from his friend's house.

By the time we got back it was after 6pm! Wow, what a day! So here it is before 7am and I am ready to do it all again.... well, most of it, LOL :) It took me so long to type this big story that now I must go shower! Have a wonderful Sunday! and a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEGAN who turns 12 at 12:32pm today! :)

{early} Saturday morning

It's seems like I just got home from the crop a few hours ago.... oh wait! That's because I did! What am I doing up at 5:30am, you ask? Remember that big of list things to do? Yep, that's why! I knew I wanted a little "email with my coffee time" so here I am! :)

The crop last night was great! Matter of fact, we signed up to do it again on the 10th (providing I can get a sitter). I decided I was going to scrap 8.5x11 because I am a lazy scanner who doesn't like stitching together 12x12 pages. I guess I really like a square format right now, though, because I ended up doing all 8x8 layouts! You can check them out in the gallery here! Nothing amazing, but fun just the same!

The photo club on Monday was even better than we expected. I am definitely nervous to get started on my assignment for the week. I want the photos I bring to be "perfect" and that just isn't going to happen. My assignment is "Rule of Thirds" so I need to bring in some examples of where I used that. Ummmmmmm, have you seen my photos? Apparently I am a full frame kind of girl, LOL Ah well, today's activities should give me plenty of time to practice!

Time for some more coffee... have an awesome day! XO

Tired

I am so tired. Not just because it's 6:30am and I have been up for an hour, but the deep tired. The mental tired. The kind where you need to sleep for at least a week to feel caught up.

I had a weird "episode" at work yesterday. This happened to me pretty regularly a couple years ago but hasn't happened in a while. A good portion of my vision went out. I couldn't see to the left at all. I tried covering my left eye and I still couldnt see to the left out of my right eye, so I know it's not vision related but rather brain related. Pretty scary! I think it lasted about 10 minutes. I told Scott about it last night and he mentioned stroke. I was thinking the same thing. I haven't been feeling well lately. I can't put my finger on it, but I have had numerous headaches, racey heart, chestpain. I know I should probably call the doctor but Scott already calls me a hypochondriac as it is, so I don't want to be an alarmist, kwim?

This weekend is so busy, it's beyond words. Sat starts at 8am with Travel Basketball try Outs for Dane. At 8:30am, Megan takes the bus to the Cross Country Meet. She is supposed to be at the school at 12:30pm for her own Travel Try Outs but since the race is at 1pm, it looks like that won't happen. 1-3pm is the Cubmobile Race but we need to leave early to get Dane to Fall Baseball at 2:30pm. Sunday is no better with 3 basketball try outs, church and CCD 4-6pm. On a happy note, though, I am meeting Melissa Friday night at the Derry scrapbook store for a crop. There were so many yummy goodies in the store Monday when we went for the Photo Club that we knew we needed to go back to crop! I couldn't justify a purchase just to bring it home and put it in a scrapbook room I haven't used since the spring!

The newest Collection of Duplicates should be hitting the boutique at The Digi Chick today! You can get a little looksie right here on the Chick Blog!

K, peeps, it's time to gte on with my day! Have a great one! :)

Post #220 Mon 10/16

Worked 6 hours that flew by today... lovin' that! Can't wait to get my own space and personalize it with pics of my kids, etc! :) Humming the little Annie tune "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Tonight is the first night of the Photo Club at the Derry lss and I am looking forward to learning some new things about my camera as well as catching up with Melissa! :) I think a Dunkin Donuts coffee might be in order on the way, too!

Gotta another Guest CT gig to toot about! Laura Deacetis posted the announcement right here! I am seriously in love with Guest CT spots because I can work with amazing designers without any long term commitment. It's a little like dating! LOL <----- Sad that I crack myself up so easily!

Well, gota leave in about an hour so I am going to close this for today! Be watching for a preview of the newest Duplicates to be released this week! I think you will find them quite spooky! ;)

Feeling a little dizzy!

Not the real dizzy, but the mental dizzy, where the world spins around you and you run in circles to catch up! I am sure you know what I'm sayin'!

Ok, first off, I want to share that I accepted the job at Oak Designs today and I am quite excited to officially get to work next week (not that I didn't work hard this week because I did, LOL). I am eager to see where this new path will take me and hope I am able to find a good balance between work/home/scrapping!

My birthday wasn't anything special but it was nice just the same. I received many greetings online, some cards from friends and family and lots of hugs from my kiddos. Can't ask for much more than that... well, that and a cake, but Scott came through with a yummy peanut butter chocolate cake so no complaints here! :)


I had fun this week playing with Val's new kit! How much fun is that paint?? I created the layout above as a freebie for her which is only available at Val's blog! Check it out! :)

I was super excited to get a PM from Jennifer at Jennilyn Designs this week asking me to be a Guest CT member! I got right to work creating with her super fun kits. You can see my work with her designs right here. She has some great new kits coming out so watch for new layouts to be added soon!


Last but certainly not least, check out this super cute 6x6 mini album I collaborated on with Anita Stergiou at NDISB.com. It would perfect for a little holiday gift album, don't you think?

Gotta scoot to get ready for a Pack Meeting! Have an awesome Friday night! XO

Only time for a quick hi!

Me <--------- Now improved at age 33! :) Yep, that's right, today is my birthday! Am I doing anything special? Nope... not at all... I am working then the kids have soccer. Pretty normal, huh? Normal is a good thing at this age, I suppose! :)

A shout out to Nora, Judi and Bobbi... my birthday twins! Have a super awesome day, girls! XO

Good Sunday morning!

First things first...
Fee & I teamed up to create this super fun mini album...

You can purchase 10 Things I Love About You right here!

It's been a busy couple days. Friday night we spent with friends enjoying some wine, a wonderful dinner and their hot tub. Saturday morning brought soccer much too early, then a friend coming over, baseball from 2:30pm to 5pm and then the Octoberfest at the Rooney's. Today we have church and then Dylan is going to a birthday party. Finally a semi-quiet day!

Stumbled on this super fun thread last night... I am being scraplifted this week at The Digi Shoppe! :) The girls have all created some awesome layouts based on layouts I have created! Such fun!

A little shout out to our buddy Steve who just became an uncle this week! His sister Jessica had a little baby girl! Congrats everyone! :)

Well, that's it for this morning! Have a super Sunday! XO

Friday things!

Nothing major, but lots of little things to update about today! :)

First of all, I now have available a new Birthday Memories Duplicates Quick Book at The Digi Chick.

You can grab it right here: http://www.thedigichick.com/boutique/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1126

Thanks to Darla for Duplicates plug on TDC Blog! Just wanted to make sure you all know the full color layout is not just an example, it's actually a PNG layout ready for you to add your photo, journaling and print as a completed layout! :)

A fun little contest from Julie and Kim...details on Kim's blog here!

If you haven't heard, Scrapbook Answers magazine is being shut down. :( If you are against this (like I am since I JUST subscribed through Victoria's school fundraiser last week), send an email to this address: jphillips@futureus-inc.com asking him to reconsider. Maybe we can make a difference by all speaking up! :)

Yesterday was a super busy day. I *finally* got my hair done. I planned to just get a color to save money, but I ended up with a foil, too, because having multiple colors allows me to go a little longer in between colors since it masks the greys... or at least that's what I tell myself, LOL. I had her color it all over and then foil so I could get rid of some of the blonde that has come through from foiling so much. I chickened out from a "real" haircut, though, and got just a trim, so overall it doesn't look much different. Scott didn't even notice. He said he was too busy looking into my eyes. Yeah right!

I also met with Kim at Oak Designs. The meeting went well and the job does sound wonderful. If I was without children, I would have been begging to make that my full time job. I am undecided right now since the hours are a few more than I wanted and childcare in the summer will be a real issue for me. I'll keep you updated! ;)

After the interview of sorts, I grabbed Victoria at school, came home to meet the bus, took the kids to soccer 4-6pm and then headed to the playground for our first Wolf Meeting. Wow, those boys were CRAZY! We were home at 7:15pm and I was in bed before 8pm. I haven't been feeling well at all. So, please note, if I die of a heart attack, you heard it here first.

I need to scoot to dry my hair and head to Dylan's class to read "Blueberries for Sal". I actually had to go buy the book yesterday since we can't find our copy. I figure I'll just donate it to the classroom. I loved the book as a child, but it always reminds me of our vacation in Maine in the summer of 2002 because we bought the book there and I read it each night to the kids.

Have a fab Friday! :)

It's the end of the road!

Today is my last day at American Traditional. I certainly didn't think I would feel at all sad on the day I gave my notice but the last 3 weeks have been better than I could have expected. Monday, Barbara took Colleen and I out to lunch. I chose the Northwood Diner because I LOVE breakfast!

Of course we had some great laughs. We were always there for the laughs, right?

Scott was off yesterday. He kept himself busy scurrying around doing things like Scott does. The kids had soccer and were glad that Daddy was able to come see them. I think it was good for Scott to get some fresh air, too. :)

I am meeting with Kim tomorrow at 1pm so send good thoughts my way, please! Have a great Wednesday!

Monday Morning Musings

Time just keeps on chuggin' along and I struggle to keep up, LOL Yet again, several days have passed between blog postings!

I was so excited to get an email from Michelle Pearson asking me to be a part of her Actions team. I have been going crazy playing around with photos and have really brought some back from beyond and made some great photos even better with her actions! Here is the very first action I tried out:

Her B&W conversion are AWESOME and make it SO easy to get it "just right" every time!

In other digi news, don't miss out on A Common Bond- a collaborative kit between The Digi Chick and Sweet Shoppe Designs Designers. 100% of proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society and the Susan G Komen Foundation!

Brand new Duplicates are in the store! This Sugary Sweet Collection is sure to put a smile on your face! :) Watch later this week for a new Quick Book coming to The Digi Chick!

I am heading to work today... it's my second to last day already and is in fact the day I gave my resigntaion for. I had to go in late on Wednesday last week unexpectedly, though, so I am working this Wednesday to make up for that. I didn't want them thinking I was trying to take advantage of my last days there. I really am not the jerk I play on tv. LOL

Scott has 3 very well deserved days off this week! He has had only 1 day (or less) off per week since June. He works long days and it worries me because I know the human body is not a machine, not meant to be worked as hard as he works. He says he is going to sleep all day today but I know that's not true, LOL He couldn't do that if he tried! Tomorrow I am sure he will pester me all day so don't expect to see too much of me online, LOL

We missed the Deerfield Fair this weekend. :( Yesterday would have been our only day to go and it the rain was just too heavy. Ah well, maybe next year!

Well, guess that's about it for this Monday morning. Have an awesome day!