A Valentines Day Card

Valentines Day is right around the corner.  Yikes, Need a few cards to send to friends and loved ones.
I created the below card by spritzing Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, and Shaded Lilac.
The Stamp set is unknown, but I think I purchased it from Hobby Lobby.

For the first time I am uploading cards I am making based on inspiration from a card class I am participating in.  Normally I take the class and do not make anything while the class is active.  Ok, I admit it am a lurker...
So this time I am trying to do a few cards from the lessons I am learning from  Clean & Simple Card Making 2.  The talented artists that teach this class are far more meticulous than I am.  I have no patience, lol.

Below is a card I created that is a mix of inspiration from the 14 days of class.
   

Cardstock is from my stash
Stamp set is Technique Tuesday, growing wild
Inks:  Hero Arts soft granite and wet cement
Tim Holtz peacock feathers and wild honey
Judikens white embossing powder
Hero Arts banner thin die

Hot Chocolate 5k

Today, I slept on as my darling husband woke up, dressed, picked up a friend and proceeded to Fair park for the Hot Chocolate 5k. 

It was not my intention to bail on the morning walk but as it turns out it was a good thing.  If I had went I would have held my honey back from achieving his full potential.  He ran the race at a little over a 9 minute mile!  Great job, Tracy!  So very proud of you.

Inspired by contadina k

My blog is just like all the other habits I am trying to form, hit or miss.  Maybe because I try to form too many at once.  I enjoy doing so many things and I allow myself a lot of down time where I could be doing other things.  Prioritization needs work in 2013.  :)

So I am going to try something new.  I have decided I want to play in  my craft room more in 2013 and use the supplies I have spend the last 10 years accumulating.  (So I can buy more of course!)

While surfing google reader I viewed a video from Vivian on her contadina k blog.  She used salt to crate an organic pattern in the inks on her page.  Who doesn't love a technique that does not require I buy anything new, I have salt!  Off I go to play.

The following are the results.  I used water color paper, water, Tim Holtz Copper distress stain and Copper paint and more distress inks in scattered twig and scattered straw.  One photo is with the flash to show the metallic shimmer.  The other is without to try and capture how rich the earth tones are.

Thank you Vivian for the inspiration.

I am grateful,

 

Dear Texas,

Why are you so darn hot already?

I let that keep me from riding my bike for a week.  We ventured out last night at 8 p.m. for a 5.7 mile ride and it was bearable. 

Heat and I are not friends.  For as far back as I an remember if I overheat I am rewarded with a migraine.  So far while riding my bike I have only had one headache that I can attribute to over heating.  One can hope that a tolerance can be built to the heat.  I have also been looking at cooling vests.  That may be a viable option. 

I have been trying to retrain my personal habits lately.  The first item I am working on is planning, cooking and cleaning up for dinner every night.  I have done so for one week now.  Yeah me.  There are also things that YOU KNOW if you just did them daily they would be so much easier but my brain always clings to procratination.  Why, why, why.  :)

I purchased a book on how to cure this.  I will let you know the lessons I learn as I go.  First I have to plug my nook in because the battery is dead... Point made.

I am grateful,

Hey, it is Thursday!

Staying busy makes the week fly by.  The below chart is a high level estimation of where my time is spent.  I may need to ponder if the 13% of my day spent watching tv and playing on my computer makes me happy.  If TV and putzing around on computer does, no change required.   May have to watch another 100 hours of tv to make that decision...

Health...

I take my health for granted, sometimes.  The last few months have been quite a trip.  I am still in discovery mode with several tests performed and now enlisting another practice to review the results for a second opinion.  Hmm wait, for it to be a second opinion I need the first physician to provide his.  Still waiting on his diagnosis. 

So while I fell off the map from February through June I had to take some time off to adjust my attitude.  No one wants to listen to anothers problems.  I have went through several emotions.  Fear, denial, acceptance (even though I have not received a diagnosis to date) and lastly, "Whatever is wrong, you do not define me, bring it."

Thank you to my husband and all the friends who have been kind enough to put up with me.  :)  I was pretty miserable for a few months and was feeling quite sorry for myself. 

So in the spirit of remaining active and taking care of ourselves Tracy and I purchased bicycles the end of May.  I cannot run anymore so the next two options are cycling or swimming.  I still have not totally ruled out swimming; however, cycling is where my focus is for now.  We try to ride 4-6 times a week.  It is so much fun.  I am even handling the heat fairly well.

Riding a bike is so much easier on the body than running!

I am Grateful.