Pinewood Derby, Doctor, Enchanted Revelry and More Snow

Greetings Folks, I woke up to more of this today as did this little guy that lives in my rose/rock garden. He loves the outdoors, can't you tell?!

I've been a wee bit busy this week. Too busy I think. And I've been so enjoying my few peeks in every chance I get at the wonderful blogs along the OWOH magic carpet ride.

We held our pinewood derby with one Pack I work with here this last week. These cars are made by 1st through 5th graders. Some were pretty creative. I just love that "pink e-racer". Great imagination....

Check out the car on box#2, a hot dog on a bun. So cute....

Daisy Duke never showed up but her cousins car did, do you see it?....

I also had a long awaited doctor's appt. this past Tuesday. I spelled it all out for him literally. I wrote down all of my meds and what I take when and then told him about my physical condition (and emotional). I described all of the different tests I've had done over the past 2 years plus and still no answers and no long lasting relief. He was very attentive and went over my medical records and test results with me. We've stopped one med and will try replacing it with another, plus adding two more that will be temporary to help me get some night time relief and to calm my nerves and legs. I've got to get some quality sleep. I am also being tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus. I have another appt. in three weeks. I don't want to wish anything bad on myself but I do want them to find something, an answer - anything, as to why I am always in such pain and when I do get it to ease up in one area it develops in another. (He assures me I'm not crazy, this I doubted.)

I did have a wonderful surprise in the mail this past week that truly made my day. Took my mind off any ailment I may have as soon as I seen the box. I new immediately I wanted to share it with you and I apologize for not having made the time to share it sooner.

I love all of the luscious colors of tissue paper that came stuffed in this box. Even my hubby knew to help fold it carefully to set aside for art projects. :) (He was as excited as I was to see what was in the box!)
A bit blurry because I was so excited I could hardly contain myself.

I tried to get Frankie to help me with unpacking the box but she wasn't interested. Cats are like that, always lounging. :)

This wonderful box of goodies came from a fabulous, stupendous, funny, artistic, talented, entertaining and creative blogger. If you have not found him yet you must visit Tristan over at

Enchanted Revelry

Tristan's blog is eye candy of the best kind and on top of that he is hilarious. He recently celebrated his 300th follower, 200th blog post and 40,000 hit. Wow!! You have to see his blog to understand. He is so full of life and his blog posts will never fail to make you smile/happy/feel warm and fuzzy inside. He is one of the participants in Lisa Swifka's One World One Heart event also so please do stop by and say hi. Just for fun tell him Tess sent you. :)

(Here is a link to his Enchanted Revelry OWOH post)

(And here is mine, I've added a second prize.)

And to Tristan I would just like to say

Thank You So Much...You Made My Day!!

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

January Journal Day 26 - Serenity

Hi,

If you are new to my blog,

Welcome. My name is Teresa, aka Tess.

And if you are a returning follower, well of course

you are welcome here too.

I can't believe it is almost the end of the month. As some may know I have been following along with Misty Mawn's January Journaling assignments. I did a journal page a day last January. I don't know how I managed it. I am so far behind this year. I've been busy creating a giveaway and a post for the 2010 One World One Heart event. (As well as busy with life in general.) This is my first year to be hosting a giveaway. It's been so much fun. Anyway, back to the journal. I did work on a few pages this past week. I'm not following along the prompts as at this point I am just playing and I think Misty would be ok with that. Below is my "It's Raining Daydreams" page.

I wish you could feel it as I actually managed to add some texture to the flowers and stems using gesso. The paint is water color. I've added words to this page now and then for over a week. I have no idea if it's done yet or not.

I have really been needing a lot of Serenity these days. I won't bore you with the details. Below is an unfinished page. A start with the wonderful serenity prayer.

I plan to take my time with this page so that I will be reading the prayer over and over again. I need Serenity in my life right now. It is so hard to accept things that are out of our control sometimes. Atleast for me it is. And I need the courage to keep my mouth shut. I guess that would be the wisdom to keep my mouth shut. LOL! :)

I hope you will visit my post below this one and enter my OWOH giveaway. I have a wonderful story to share with you there.

I'm off to ride my magic carpet. If you haven't a ticket you are welcome to share my ride. (Just visit the other commenters, most are playing along too.)

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

OWOH Magic Carpet Ride

Happy Valentines Day to you all! This OWOH giveaway will end at noon CST tomorrow, February 15th. After that I will attempt to use the random numbers generator to pick my 2 winners. If need be I will print and cut up the comments list and have hubby draw 2 winners from my crystal bowl. I will announce the winners sometime after that.

UPDATE: I am thrilled to share that I have over 100 comments on my giveaway. Wow!!! To celebrate I will be drawing a second winner and I have made a second plaque. See the second prize at the bottom of this post.

Greetings One and All,

My name is Teresa aka Tess and I have something to share with you.

I had a dream I was floating through the air as fast as fast could be. And yet, I could see everything as clear as day. I seen such wonderful sites. Lakes, oceans, mountains and valleys were all there for me to delight in. And the sounds, oh how wonderful the sounds were both day and night. Oh did I mention , in my dream, day became night became day before my very eyes? And yet all was clear, calm, no fog, no squinting, no guessing what was before or what was behind. I could think "slow down" and I did. I could think "stop" and I would. I lingered over the Rocky Mountains and spied a great Bear feeding her young. I floated above the Pacific and enjoyed the mist from a Great White Whale. I felt the heat of the day and the cool of the night desert as I watched lizards scurry about. I visited countries I was sure I would never see again. Canada, England, France, Germany, Belgium, Malaysia, Italy, Australia, all were there for me to see as I floated along. It was all so clear to me as I awoke lying there on grannies quilt. The quilt that had become a magic carpet ride. I have seen crystal lakes. I have seen the the sandy beaches of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. I have seen mighty mountains and desert valleys. And someday...someday I'll see other countries because Dreams do Come True....even if only on magic carpet rides.

~~~

I found the One World One Heart event last year and made so many new friends and found so many wonderful blogs to follow. OWOH is a wonderful event created and hosted by Lisa Swifka. The purpose of the event is to bring together bloggers from all over the world. A meet and greet sort of thing. I even acquired a few new blog followers myself. And I won a few giveaways too. Me, who up until then never won anything. After last years event I knew I would participate this year with a giveaway of my own. Of course as life goes on and time goes by I had forgotten all about it. Until I seen that awesome OWOH Ticket badge on another blog and I remembered all over again what my vow was last year. I vowed to myself to thank the generous bloggers I had won items from by joining in and hosting a giveaway. But what, what could I make, what could I post that someone might want. And then it came to me, my little dream, and so....

I offer to one lucky blog visitor this little wood plaque.

This little wood plaque measures approx. 7 1/4" wide by 5 1/4" high. I painted it with acrylic paints and a pretty paper with the DREAMS come true sentiment was adhered using Mod Podge. Colors are black, brown and pale blue. I added some paint and sanding, more paint, more sanding, and then 3 coats of Mod Podge to seal it. A saw tooth hanger will be attached to the back so it will come to the lucky winner ready to hang or gift to another. It looks great standing on an easel too. What better giveaway to offer visitors of the Heart of Words blog than a word plaque made just for you. A pretty little plaque with a constant reminder that dreams do come true.

~~~

Just leave a comment on this post only with a way for me to contact you and I will enter your name into my drawing. As this is my first OWOH giveaway and as this IS a blog event I am requesting that you have a blog to enter. Please leave a way to link back to your blog or leave an email address so that I may contact you when you win. I, and hopefully other commenter's, will want to visit your blog so please do leave a link. The lucky winners name will be drawn and announced on February 15th. Good Luck and Pleasant Dreams....

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

P.S. If you haven't figured it out yet, my blog IS my magic carpet ride.

Don't forget to stop by Lisa's OWOH site and visit some of the many other blog participant's. Have fun and enjoy your ride.

My apologies for the poor picture. Colors are red on block with pink and black accents. "Dreams Can Take You Anywhere" is so true when you are on a magic carpet ride. (Stand not included.) Good Luck.....

Talk About Being Caught with Your Pants Down...

I'm at work.

It's time to go run the office errands.

I decide I need to tinkle first.

So I'm sitting in the bathroom,

(That's what we females do, sit)

When suddenly there is a horrendous BOOM,

And as suddenly a crack appears on the bathroom wall.

I don't think I've moved that fast in a long time.

(My feet, not my bowels.)

I jumped up and pull up at the same time.

Reach for the stall door and have a second thought.

I better flush.

Out the door I go and into the main break room.

Ye Gads, the wall is caved in!

Yep, someone hit the building with their car.

We do not have a drive-thru in our building.

OK, so I run across the hall and tell my

office mates someone ran into the building.

Back across the hall to look out of the break room window.

Yep, a car and two people helping.

Back across the hall, yes it's a car, they have help.

I'm informed they've called the emergency services.

Turned out to be an 85 year old driver on oxygen.

I'm, pleases to announce she is ok.

Her air bag deployed,

she's shook up,

but ok.

And I'm just thankful she wasn't one car space to the left

or she'd have caught me with my pants down.

:)

(My apologies, I just couldn't resist.)

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

January Journal day 16 - Butterfly Kisses

Howdy Friends,

Above is a two page layout in my January Journal. I'm still playing along with Misty Mawn's January Journal prompts. Last week was become your favorite artist. When I went searching the web for inspiration and ideas I went to Picasso first and some how ended up with Andy Warhol. I love the artwork by both of these artists. I wanted to do a page emulating Misty as I love her style but I'm just so intimidated by faces. When I think of Misty I see beautiful and sometime solemn faces in my minds eye. I went searching for inspiration again and found two paintings by Warhol that came together for me; Butterflies and Lips. These two paintings together spoke to me of "butterfly kisses". Soooo, I created the layout above. Wanting to make it my own I used collaged and stamped butterflies and I had so much fun looking through an InStyle magazine to cut out lips. Look closely and you will see there are both male and female lips shown.

Closeup of butterflies page:

Closeup of lips page:

I then journaled around the pages about my idea of "butterfly kisses".

kitty whiskers brushing my cheeks

babies

eyelashes

a puppies wet nose

an early morning snuggle

a glance across a room

hugs

a whisper

a forehead kiss

a wink

chocolate

Next weeks theme is mixed media. Looking back at my previous pages it seems most of them already are mixed media so I will have to think on this one. I think her challenge is to stay with one medium each day. Will I stay with one medium for one page and another for the next? Will I be able to do this? We'll see...

Who inspired you to create something and make it your own today?

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

Giveaway at Enchanted Revelry

Tristan is celebrating with a giveaway. Hop on over to Enchanted Revelry and congratulate Tristan on his 300th follower, 200th post and 40,000th blog hit. Wow...that's a mouthful, try saying that 3 times fast. Tristan is celebrating his blog success with a super cool, awesomely sweet giveaway. Paints and crayons and inks, oh my!!

I can't wait to win it all. (Thinking positive here.)

Do stop by his blog and congratulate him. Oh, and enter his happy giveaway.

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

January Journal day 12 - Stress Test

Today I had a new experience. Another chapter in my book of tests. Last September I had an episode where I was sure I was having a heart attack. After a visit to the E.R. I was assured I had not had a heart attack. Since then I have had one other day where my left arm and neck ached so I thought maybe, maybe. I went to bed instead (I don't recommend this). I've had a neck MRI, a brain MRI, an EMG on the left arm and hand (That hurt!) and now today I had a nuclear stress test. As I have degenerative joint disease in my knees and a bulging disc in my lower back I was concerned to say the least. I did not know if I would be able to walk on the treadmill at the level and speed they would need. I found out this test had been scheduled by receiving a letter in the mail with date, time and instructions. The letter stated I may have medication injected to stress the heart if I could not manage the treadmill. What?!

My doctor has a daughter who is a doctor. She performed the test. As I have asthma and the medication used to stress the heart has a side effect, it causes asthmatics to have an attack she wanted me to try the treadmill test. I agreed, of course. Nothing scares me more than not being able to breath. My attacks are worsened by the fact that once they start I panic. Many panic attacks are confused for asthma attacks and vice versa.

I am so pleased right now as I did it. The target heart rate they wanted to aim for was 145. I made it to 140 and was having a real hard time with pain in right knee and left calf and my breathing was labored. Plus my blood pressure was really high. It started out high today for some reason. LOL! They injected the contrast into my hand at about 143, close enough. Dr. Rhonda has a really good manner, a chip off the old block as they might say. I was comfortable with both her and the two techs that were attending me. I was even able to walk the one minute cool down. She said most do 2 or 3 but she thought one would be enough. Then I got to sit for awhile and they gave me a glass of water and cheese crackers. Wasn't that nice of them?!

After 30 ,minutes I was placed on a machine to have images taken of my heart. They said the contrast would show any problems with blood flow in or out of the chambers. Oh and Dr. Rhonda said the EKG being taken while I was on the treadmill looked good. I go back tomorrow morning for resting images. They will inject me again and then I stay still for 30 minutes and then they take the images. Easy! I should have the results within the week.

So please pray that everything turns out ok, or if there is something, that there will be an easy fix.

I did a journal page with a heart and words today. Misty Mawn's prompt for this week is to become a favorite artist. I wanted a big heart on this red and yellow page and to journal about todays event with words. A reminder to have a calm heart, mind and soul. To be calm is good for my asthma and my anxiety attacks and my heart aka blood pressure. So I created with my day in mind. Then I remembered that Andy Warhol did a lot of word art. So today I am Andy Warhol.

Be happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself (Or your favorite artist for a day),

Tess

2010 January Journal - Day 10

I've had so many aches and pains today. I did manage to help get the Christmas Tree down and house vacuumed. Laundry is started, but not done. I had to just sit and be still a while. A hard thing for me to do. So I created this. I am Picasso today, and I feel like this woman looks. all jumbled up.
Have a good night!

Tess

2010 Day 7 Journal Page - Friendship Tree

I seem to have the subject of friends and friendship still on my mind. This yellow page has morphed and has gained a friendship tree. It seems fitting as it is the page that accompanies my altered photo page of Raven and Angel. One day they may see this and hopefully understand the messages here. Have you watered your friendship tree lately? With the holidays behind us and life starting to get back to normal it is easy to forget to call that special friend, one that may be far away or just right next door. Cultivate your friendships as often as possible. Gain strength from them and know when it is time to move on. Some friendships are meant to last and some are meant to fulfill a purpose.

If you are reading this you are a friend. One I may barely know, one I may know very well or one I may not have met yet. Welcome to my friendship tree....

Be Happy, Be Safe, Be Yourself,

Tess

2010 - day 4 Journal Page

Hello Again,

I got to play in my journal today. I decided to follow Misty Mawn's prompt so I went into my computer and picked a photo I took to play with. As I am still thinking about friendship after the wonderful display of love my granddaughter showed for her cousin yesterday I decided to play with a photo of them. As pink is their favorite color and has been for many years now I made them pink. I think they would both love to have pink hair. LOL! I painted 2 pages in my journal and then created their special page. I will forever be reminded of the special bond they have at this time every time I look at this page. I used watercolors, ink, stamps and collage. There are several hidden messages in this also. One can be easily seen, the other is partly covered but I am sure I will remember what it says, maybe. :)

I definitely like the heavier weight paper I used to make this journal better. The left side of the best friends page is my first attempt at painting with bubble wrap. After I painted the two shades of blue on the friends page I painted the opposite page yellow and then closed the journal. I loved how it looked when I reopened it. I don't think it's done though, too much yellow. We'll see what I come up with next. I have a new idea for some new ATC's also. I have some pieces of this paper left cut off one side that will work perfectly for ATC's.

I won't have time for crafting tomorrow, it's a big scout night.

Until next time I hope you are settling into January just fine and staying warm.

Be Happy, Be Healthy & Be Your Self,

Tess

Day 3~ LAst Christmas Party for 2009 and B-Days

Good Sunday,

It's been another good day, and a long one. Today we met after church for a big Family Christmas Gathering at my moms place. With a new home and a new husband it was a lot of fun. We had not realized but today's visit was Bobbie's first visit to her grandma's new home. Of course she loved it. We had chicken roll-ups, cream of chicken & sour cream sauce, egg noodles, green beans, peas, a salad and a vegetable tray. My youngest also made her famous cheese ball, yummy. After a good meal we watched the kids open their gifts and then sent them to another room to play while the adults played the gift exchange game. It is lots of fun and there were several gifts exchanging hands this year. It was my brother James girlfriends first time to play the game and she caught on right away. Don't be shy, uou see something you want, take it! LOL! Once the game was over pretty much everyone had what they had spied and wanted most.

Above is Henry showing off the quilt mom made him for Christmas. She managed to work on it when he wasn't home so he did not know. She did not have the binding on before Christmas but gave it to him anyway. He got to watch her finish it off. He's a BIG K-Sate Fan... My mom is a KU fan. LOL!! They say opposites attract. :) We think she did a great job with the quilt.

My mom started collecting the Cape Cod collection of glassware from Avon many years ago as a single mother. Of course she never acquired the whole collection before they discontinued it. When we were helping them move we managed to take imnventory of what she has. Chuck and I found several pieces on E-Bay for her and that is the big surprise, OMGosh, look here. We love shocking her... :)

These two are cousins, they live in the same town and yet somehow hardly ever get to see each other. Raven received a book with a double heart. The heart said "best friends" and was actually two necklaces. Once I explained to her what it was, the meaning and that she would wear one and give the other to her best friend she said "I understand" and promptly went over to her cousin and said this. "Angel, you are my best friend, I want you to have this". We explained to Angel and she accepted it. They gave me such a lump in my throat. These two have been such good friends since babies. They are 6 months apart in age is all. Raven is my granddaughter and Angel is my niece.

We then celebrated Billie's birthday,which was yesterday and Henry's birthday which is this Tuesday with a big birthday cake and cards. Soo much food and fun, I am exhausted. I had no time for anything crafty or artsy today, unless making the chicken roll-ups counts. LOL!

Tomorrow is the start of a new week. For many vacations are over and it's back to work, back to the same old routine. Strive to make it a special day/week and to smile and laugh often. It is a new beginning, make the most of it. Things have been not so good at my work. I plan to make the best of it this week and to remember that only I control my attitude; and do just that.

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

2010 Day 2 - Journal Cover Complete

The end of Day 2 and what a fun day it has been. Today is my youngest daughters 28th birthday. I just cannot believe she is 28. In my mind she is still 24, 25 maybe (and sometimes 7 or 12 or 16, depending on the reminiscing), but not 28. We met her and my son-in-law at IHOP for brunch. Yummy food and wonderful conversation. She bought herself an IPOD Touch with her Christmas money and had to show me all she had put on it. Fun little gadget. Now it's on hubby's wish list for his birthday. Luckily I have all year to save for it as his birthday is in December! LOL After brunch which was really more like lunch time. We end to the OA Winter Banquet. They had the K-State Union Rec Center open to the OA members and we had fun bowling and hubby played pool with another scout leader and a few of the youth. It was fun watching all of the activities. It ended with a wonderful catered buffet supper. And it started snowing when it was time to leave. So we got to drive home in the dark with snow falling. It was very pretty. Another wonderful day and I even had time to finish my January Journal cover.

I cut my face out of a picture and gave myself luscious full lips (stolen from a model in a magazine). I've always felt my lips are too thin. I love how I changed them here. I am sure I will recognize this journal years from now just by the cover. You may recognize the little party hat as one of my ATC's. I liked the reminder that each new day, new month, new year and new decade is part of a puzzle and we are all an important part of that puzzle. I hope to fill it this month with many of the thoughts written around the cover as a border. New Ideas, new dreams, new techniques, new memories, etc., etc...

Tomorrow is my family's big Christmas gathering at my mom's house. We will have about 14 people at mom's with a gift exchange, games and food. There will bw siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren and even a great grandchild. Yes, my mom is a great grandma. We called our great "granny" and now my granddaughter calls my mom "granny". I love it, and she doesn't mind at all! Fun! Fun! Hopefully the snow doesn't cause travel problems. My oldest brother is the farthest away and still only has a 1 hour drive. The streets and roads are pretty clear now since we've had sun the past few days and the roads crew did a really good job cleaning up the Christmas snow storm.

You all have a great night,

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Yourself,

Tess

The First Day of 2010

Happy 2010 Everyone,

Here it is the end of the First Day of 2010. I trust you all had a safe and happy New Years Eve. I spent mine at home with my Mr. and my online friends. We had Pizza and Chicken Wings and a few glasses of Strawberry White Zinfandel. I even managed a game of Scrabble online with one of my brothers. It was quiet around here and just what I needed. We almost forgot to watch the ball drop. A relaxed and calm late night after a day of stressed work was just what I needed to end a long year that had many happenings. I was given more gray hairs with the thought of losing my oldest daughter to a brain tumor and have a wonderful blessing of the tumor being removed and non cancerous. She is doing well. I gained a step father this year too. Henry is a sweet, sweet man and makes my mom so happy. Many things I worried about and many things made me happy and joyful. I woke this morning feeling great. No headache, no achy back or knees. It was a good day, a good start to a new year. I even ran into mom and Henry at the grocery store and had a call from the youngest daughter today.

I read on Misty Mawn's blog that she is going to do another January Journaling event. For the first week of January she has suggested altering a photo we took in our journal. I have decided to play along. I even got out a sheet of heavy watercolor paper and used Teesha Moore's 16 page Journal instructions to create a new journal. I did it from memory of the first one I made and I used the heavier weight Fabriano paper and my new Reeves water color set to paint the cover background. Tomorrow I will add a photo and some lettering to create my 2010 New Year journal. It is just a bit smaller than Teesha's and only 12 pages but I think I will be able to make a wonderful January 2010 Journal with it by working in it a bit everyday or every other day. And with 12 pages I will be able to use each prompt on a few pages every week.

How was your first day of the New Year?

May you find many blessings this new year. Continue to follow your dreams, create your bliss and list them with your favorite pen during 2010. (Hey that rhymed, I love it!!)

Be Happy, Be Healthy, and most of all ~ Be Yourself,

Tess