Getting Back on Track and Hard Decisions

I am back and vowing to do better.  Life and work have been getting the better of me, and I am trying to reel everything in and get back to some semblance of normalcy.  It seems like months since there was any calm or relaxation to the weekends and I think I just need to sit down, take a deep breath and regroup.  I started last night by cleaning off the craft table A.K.A. the dining room table.  I am kicking myself right now for not taking a "before" picture, so that you can also revel in the accomplishment with me.  I have a couple of projects going right now and I was stumped as to why I wasn't able to get focused and make some serious progress.  Last night the light bulb went off - no one in their right mind could possibly "get focused" working in the clutter that I  had created for myself.....and off to work I went.

Yes, people....THAT is clean - if you only could have seen the before.

Anyway, after making great strides  last night on the table, I cut all the pages out for my mom's  mini book tonight and managed to clean up after myself.  Leaving the table pretty much how I found it when I came home this evening.  Baby steps people - BABY STEPS!!!

The mini book....8.5 x 8.5

This next papragraph I grabbed from a Facebook friend and reposted it on my wall yesterday and I thought I would leave it at that, but honestly it has been on my mind since I read it then and I can't really seem to shake it. 

There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

I had to do this not just once, but twice in my life and they were within about two months of each other.  It seems like something you should be able to do and move on and not think too much about it.  But to be honest....it was an extremely difficult thing for me to just give up and walk away. It is generally not in my nature.  Both of the people that I had to finally break away from were dear treasured friends at one time, and one of them since grade school.  It took a lot to get me to the point that enough was enough and there was a period where I beat myself up over doing it at all....continually questioning whether I had done the right thing.  Had I taken every opportunity to work the situations out?  I finally came to the conclusion that hell yes I had!  People in my life that I had once held incredibly close and I loved with all of my heart had been sucking the life out of me and draining me emotionally.  When I made that admission to myself the decisions were already made...I knew what I had to do.  I am still sad that I had to make those decisions and I sometimes mourn the relationships that have been lost, but in the end I know that the right choices were made for me, and I can live with that!

I feel very blessed these days to have wonderful, loving, treasured friends in my life.  We are there for each other and laugh and sometimes cry together.....sharing the good times as well as the rough patches.  And luckily for us all, there is not a life sucker among us.  Life is truly GOOD!

Mom's Surprise Party 02.12.11

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Please don't get used to two posts in one day...it will probably NEVER happen again.  There were folks patiently waiting to see these pics and I decided that it was worth it to miss out on a little sleep so that I could get it done.  This party had been in the works for over five months.  My mom is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I know.  Not only to people that she comes into contact with, but especially to the furry four legged varieties.  In other world if you came back to life as an animal...especially a cat...you would want to live with the Kiefer's.  NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!!  But wait - I digress.  Back on track.  Our family has never  been big on celebrations or party throwing.  When Zachary was born we threw some pretty great parties, but as for the adults we were just out of luck.  During the summer last year I started thinking about something over the top that I could do for my mom since 6o is a pretty big deal.  That is when the idea for the memory book started to take shape.  The lady that I scrapbook with had done something similar for her parent's anniversary, so I made a few changes and the project began.  But I soon realized that I wanted to do something even bigger and more special and that is when my dad and I decided that we weren't just going to attempt a party....we were going for the BIG KAHUNA...a SURPRISE party!  I cannot think of anyone more deserving of a party like this than my mom.  As the months ticked off more and more people knew my sweet daddy was convinced that there was no possible way that we were going to pull this off without someone "spilling the beans".  We were down to T minus 24 hours and I got a frantic call from my dad saying that flowers had arrived for my mom from my Godmother in KY...her birthday was not for another 8 days.  Luckily, Salli was quick on the draw and when mom called she belted out that she wanted mom to have a full week or more to enjoy her birthday flowers. Mom bought the story hook, line and sinker and the crisis was averted.  Three of her friends took her out on the day of the party and as soon as they left we kicked it into gear setting up and doing last minute decorations.  As you can tell from the pictures if she had even an inkling that anything was going on, she did I great job of hiding it.  We had great food and fellowship with friends and family from near and a couple from far away.  I couldn't have dreamed of a better outcome and I have never seen my mom...or my dad...for that matter more excited. 

So...if you ever need help with a party, or just need party favors - don't hesitate to give me a ring.  Now that a little time has passed, I am realizing that even though there were tons of details and even more stress, I am pretty sure that I had a great time doing it!  Have a great weekend and I hope you enjoy the post!

All photos in the post courtesy of Macy English.

Mom's 60th Birthday Memory Book

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For those of you that don't already know, my mom's 60th birthday was on February 19th.  Back in June of last year I sent out a request to family and friends for pictures, letters or general well wishes for this momentous occasion.  Once I had everything collected....which was no easy task mind you - I compiled everything into a scrapbook / memory book.  I presented it to her at her SURPRISE 60th Birthday Celebration on February 12th.   Those pictures will be in a post before the end of the weekend...I promise!

She LOVED it!!!!!

Blogging for the Greater Good, Scrapping and A New Additon

OK, so I am feeling quite sure that the few followers that I do have decided that I have already abanded ship after a mear 4 posts.  No such luck - I am back!  I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with the antibiotics and I am feeling 98%  myself again.  Whatever that craziness was, I hope it never comes back!

I told my son about my blog over the weekend....the response was mixed.  I think when you are ten and your mother is writing about your molding of the truth it may be a little unnerving.  But on the flip side maybe the next time he is going to do something foolish like that there could be a moment's hesitation when he thinks "do I really want mom blogging about this tomorrow".  Probably just wishful thinking, but you never know what is going to stick with a kid.

For anybody who might be wondering about my next scrapbook project it has begun.  "Craftastic" is in high gear!  A really sweet gal that I used to work with got married in October.  I told her that I wanted to do a mini scrapbook of their engagement photos for her and her husband for their wedding present.  Well, her photographer wouldn't realease any of the images until she was done editing everything from the wedding.  That happened the week after my mom's party.  So after taking my self imposed two week hiatus from anything crafty....I am back on track.  What I forgot to mention is the book is taking on a life of it's own.  What started out as an 8x8 engagement album, has turned into a full blown 12x12 to include engagement, wedding and bridal pictures.  That is my fault....once I saw her bridal portraits and attended the wedding, I told her we had to do it all.  So...200+ pictures later and I am on my way.  Her colors were hot pink and black...a welcome change after all the blue from my mom's stuff.  Don't get me wrong - I adore blue but I need a break.  Here is a tiny sneek peek of what I am creating:

Hot Pink, Black and White....LOVE IT!!!!!

I was hoping to have the pictures from the party  by now so that I could start posting the book as well as the actual party pictures but I am still patiently waiting.  OK maybe not so patiently anymore, but our awesome photographer also has a full time job.  She assured me that the disc was going in the mail yesterday, so I am crossing my fingers that maybe tomorrow something will show up in my mailbox.

My plan for this post was to introduce you to the newest member of our family, but alas I got sidetracked.  I think that I will save him for the next post...but not to worry - I would never leave you totally hanging:

Jack Bauer Kiefer Fiorito