You are my world....

I love you, Scott!

Will you rate my photo?

I entered this photo like eons ago in some contest and I get spammed about it all the time (buy a book, you might win a contest, blah blah blah). Anyway, there is a voting page up and you dont even have to register to vote so check it out:
http://www.picture.com/voteforme/photovote1.asp?PID=1837645

Thanks for all your thoughts yesterday! I appreciate them and hope you will keep me in your prayers. I have cut down on smoking- I am down to about 1/2 pack or a little less per day. I am trying hard to keep my stress level down and rest a little more. I am noticing when my spikes tend to occur and am tracking them so when I meet with my doctor on the 10th, we can discuss how to prevent them.

I turned in my History of Graphic Design project on Tuesday and my professor seemed impressed. I have another project to go as well as prep for a couple tests and one written paper. I am in pretty good shape grade-wise! :)

I am really enjoying having the time off from work this week and as much as I LOVE Modell's, I wonder if the money is really worth it to stress myself out those 2 extra days. The job itself isn't stressful but the idea of cramming the rest of my life into the other 5 days is such a challenge.

Ahhhhhh, don't listen to me..... I hate when I get whiney! I am sure I will pull myself up by the bootstraps soon and get back on target! :)

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary... officially it's our 3rd anniversary (after 12 years of marriage)! I said I do that day and I would say it again without question! Through all the ups and downs, there is one thing I know... I love that man! :)

A health vent

So as I last reported I spent the night in the hospital when my BP spiked. They doubled my meds and added potassium. Well, Sunday night, my BP spiked yet again. My friend Jen's sister is a nurse at Parkland so I talked to her on the phone and she told me that I was in danger of having a stroke with my BP so high so again I head to the ER. The long and short of it is they added a 3rd medication and told me to see my doctor. I went to the dr on Monday (not my usual guy because he is on vacation) and he confirmed that I should try to manage my BP with the 3 meds prescribed, with the hope that my BP is caused by genetics and not some other issue. He told me that I should definitely go to the ER if my BP spikes and I have any other symptoms. He also told me that I should call if my BP bottom number is at 110 and doesnt go down in an hour. That is exactly what happened last night. I ended up taking my night meds early and layed on the couch shaking. I was so scared! What the hell is wrong with me?? Is my entire life going to be lived around keeping my blood pressure at some normal level?? I am SO frustrated because if I had health insurance, they would be doing further testing right now to find out why it is spiking but since I can't afford it, I get to suffer and risk my life. That just can't be right.

So, I am off today because the kids are on vacation so I am going to go chill out and watching Country Bears! That movie makes me smile and I am sure smiling is good for my blood pressure! :)

Scrap for Hire OK

I can't believe it has taken me this long to make this announcement! All of my templates are now SCRAP FOR HIRE FRIENDLY! You can read all the details right here at PolkaDotPotato.com!

In other finally-getting-around-to-it- news, Victoria and I went out for her birthday dinner a few weeks ago! She chatted up a storm and we caught up on all the things important to a 15 year old girl! She said she had more fun than she expected because I threw food at her! ;) Hey, what can I say? I am a kid at heart!

We are heading into mid-term week at school and I am WAY beyond busy with projects and papers and other assorted homework! If I think of it, maybe I will try to add some of my projects to my gallery! It might be fun to see if I improve over the course of the next year! :)

Have a great night!

Lefty

I don't know why, but I have always wished I were a lefty. It's something I notice about people right away (usually) in public and I always comment on it. Today I was at my aunt's and noticed that my cousin Jen and my aunt Suzie are BOTH lefties! HUH!? How did I miss that all this time?? Jen said that more of the Tevlins are lefties than righties! HOW COME I GOT SKIPPED? And is that where my fascination comes from? LOL

Miriam Lima had a fun series of contests this week that kept me scrapping: Celebrate Pink I have my fingers crossed that maybe I will win a prize! :) I was really happy with my Chinese New Year layout!

Dylan's team won their game in the playoffs today but sadly their record wasn't good enough to move forward! :( It was a great year, though and I know he learned a lot from Coach Allard and Coach Remington! We are so blessed to have such amazing volunteers/coaches in Auburn. I was DISGUSTED by the behavior of some other coaches I saw today including a coach SHOVING a 5th or 6th grade boy. Seems to me that coach could use a little chat with the police about a law pertaining to battery, but I guess it's not my business. The parents were right there and did nothing...

Not much else new at the moment. I am busy with homework and gearing up for midterms already (where does the time go?). Dylan was so cute on Thursday. He sat down beside me and did his own version of my art assigments. I am going to bring them in and see if my professor will give him a grade, too!

Have a great night! G'night!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, it's been a crazy couple of days! Monday night I ended up admitted to the hospital because my BP was way too high and my potassium was dangerously low. After a head CT, stress test, several EKG's and much blood work, there were some minor changes found but nothing that indicated I had a heart attack (which is fab news). My meds were increased and I was sent on my merry way. Hopefully that will be what it takes to get things managed!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope your day of LOVE is wonderful! This is my fave holiday! I LOVE pink and red and hearts and sappy sentiments and all things lovey dovey! :) And having Scott for my Valentine is even better! Hope your day is great!

Here are the cards I did for the kids this year!

The biggest night!

I was grumbling like crazy about not wanting to go to the Blue & Gold Banquet last night... the snow was already falling and I didn't feel like eating cold picked over food... and then Dane said to me "Mom, of course we have to go- this is the biggest night of my childhood!" I had no idea he felt so strongly about becoming a Boy Scout and when he walked over that bridge leaving Cub Scouts behind him, he was so darned proud! It actually brought a tear to my eye!

I am happy to report that I just finished the kid's Valentine cards and ordered them for pick up tomorrow! :) They came out pretty cute if I do say so myself. Hopefully this year I will actually MAIL them to our non-school friends and family, LOL :) Maybe I should be addressing the envelopes rather than updating my blog! ;)

Scott has been super busy working 2 jobs and trying to get my Dad's place repainted and fixed up for occupancy! It's really starting to come along and we are excited to have the carpet installed this week!

And I will close tonight with something to think about... this short video really struck me... The days are long but the years are short. So true, so true.

G'night!

Going to Disney

Ron (my Graphic Design teacher/ professor) gave us the news today that Hesser College gave the okay for our class trip in November to go to Disney! It's going to be an amazing opportunity to further my knowledge of graphic design while meeting with some of the top graphic designers in the nation! WOOHOO!

I was really sorry to see Mitt Romney dropped out of the race today, but I am prepared to put my support behind John McCain! Note to self... request large sign for the yard! ;)

If you haven't been over to PolkaDotPotato.com lately, I just put up the February sketch challenge today! Check it out and play along! :)

Class S Champs!

I am so proud of Megan and her entire team! They played a great game on Saturday to end the perfect season (unlike some other undefeated team we know.. coughcoughNewEnglandPatriotscoughcough!

Dylan's team also won this weekend, but poor Dane lost! :( I always wish I could take away the sting of losing but there is nothing like the sweet taste of victory!

It is snowing this morning and there are 250+ school delays but none from my school or the kid's school, so I need to go get showered and head out! Have an awesome day!

Kids (still) say the darndest things!

Conversation:
Megan: Dad, Why are you barrel-assing down the highway?
Dad: Megan, You can’t say that! It’s a bad word!
Megan: No, it’s not!!
Dad: What’s the second word?
Megan: “Lassing”!
Journaling:
When Megan told me of this conversation, I just about fell out of my chair laughing! I mean, seriously! She is thirteen years old and really thought that “barrel assing” was a high end vocab word for speeding? Hysterical! Thanks for the laugh, Megpie! Love ya!