In 2010, South Florida Let Me Down

I have to admit that I love living in South Florida.  When I first moved here, I used to hate that sweaters were really a non-starter here.  But now I love that I can wear sandals all year long.  (My feet like to be free.)  I own very few pairs of socks cause I just don't need them.

Well in 2010, South Florida let me down.  It was actually cold here both in January and December.  And I am not talking about "oh it's in the 50s so I think I am freezing and everyone else wants to kill me". I am talking ice here people  Kill off all my beautiful plants type of weather and I have proof.  Cause being a good scrapper, I have pages documenting said cold.  Here are two separate pages from January 2010.

This first layouts contains my favorite photo of the three.  David put out a bucket of water near our hibiscus to draw the cold in to the water.  He managed to lift the sheet of ice directly out of the bucket and I think it is a great photo.

(Created using It's Wintry, Foil It - Frames 1 and Cut It from Merkeley Designs)

Just ignore the February mentioned in the journaling on this layout. This picture was actually from January 6th.

(Layout created using We Can Build A Snowman by Michelle Batton and Elise's Pieces and Clustered Frames - The Messy Files by 4 Shades of Blue Designs (now retired))

But no, the cold couldn't just stay away for the rest of the year.  December brought plenty of cold weather of it's own.  In fact, we are still waiting to see if some of our plants are going to make it.

Here's my layout with my December 2010 ice photos.  (Trust me, I am not happy to have this many ice photos.  Would much rather have sunny, warm photos to share.)

 (Layout created using Feelin Frosty and

12x12 Scalloped Mats from Shanmomto4 Designs)

It's now 2011 and we've had some days that have been colder than I like.  But at least we haven't seen any more ice...yet.

Life is Definitely Not Fair

I am pretty sure that today has provided me with absolute proof that life is not fair.  Tomorrow, we will be scattering the ashes of my mother-in-law who lost her battle with cancer last week.  That alone has gotten 2011 off to a pretty bad start.  It got worse today.

This morning at around 6 a.m., I was playing games on my phone when a voice mail message from my mom popped up.   That is 5 a.m. for my mom, so not good.  The message was all static.  When I called my mom back, I couldn't understand a thing she was saying.  I then called my sister's cell phone and she was already on her way to my mom's house and had called an ambulance cause she couldn't move.  We now know this is because she has had a stroke.

It doesn't appear to be life threatening.  But she cannot move the right side of her body and they don't know if the movement will come back or not.  According to my sister, the CT scan showed a small stroke but the doctor seems to think something bigger is being hidden.  I don't like the sound of that.  I wish I was closer, but I am going out next week.

In my perfect world, my mom would not have had a stroke and David's mom would not have died last week.  Period.  But I realize that this life is not perfect.  I don't expect it to be.  However, I do think it should be a little more fair than to have my mom have a stroke the day before we have a funeral for David's mom.  That is just a little too unfair.

Goodbye...For Now

My mother-in-law, Joni Talbert, lost her battle with breast cancer yesterday. Today, I was reading her obituary and I realized how little that tells you about the person who died. It tells you that she had children and grandchildren. That she worked. That she was married. But there is so much it doesn't tell you.

It doesn't tell you how much her husband loved her and is going to miss. It doesn't tell you of her sacrifice to help raise her autistic grandson. There is no mention of how she was so sick, but still wanted to make Christmas dinner rather than buying it. It doesn't tell you that she was co-captain of the cheerleading squad in high school. The reality is that the obituary tells you so little about the person that just passed.

I wish I knew David's mom better. Family circumstances made that almost impossible. But I do know that she raised the wonderful man that is my son and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Right now, it is still odd that she is gone. But I know that there is life beyond this one. And I know that we will see her again someday. Until then, she will be missed by her entire family.

Funky Club Vol 2

If you are like me, you are always looking for a good value.  And if you are a digiscrapper, I have one for you.  The Funky Club vol 2 begins January 5th.  And for only $10 you will receive 16 mini-kits.  (One per week from January 5th - April 20th, 2011.)

The mini-kits in volume one were excellent. Here is a layout I made using several of the mini's from volume one. (Only the alpha used in the layout was not part of one of the minis.)

(You can see the full credits here.) 

And if you join before January 5th, you will receive a $5 coupon from each of the contributing designers.  Now that is a deal.

Quote of the Week: January 2nd - January 8th

The quote I want to share with you this week comes from Bruce R. McConkie, a former member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.

This has been one of my favorite quotes since I heard it for the first time almost 20 years ago and I wanted to share it with you today.

Welcome to 2011

If anyone missed it, a new year began today. It is officially 2011. Did you make any resolutions? I did. These really aren't new resolutions for me. I just hope 2011 will be the year I am finally able to make good on them. (No, I am not good at keeping my resolutions.)

For 2011, my resolution are:

--To exercise my faith more. Read my scriptures more. Pray more.
--Live a healthier lifestyle. Eat better and exercise more.
--Focus on what is important and worry less about the things that don't matter.

Of course, I did do a layout about my resolutions. I can't include it here, because it has been published. If you want to see the layout, you will need to check out the digital magazine. You can see my layout on page seven of the January 2011 issue of GingerScraps Street Magazine.

I also have one smaller resolution for 2011 and that is to be a better blogger. For 2011 I am going to find a schedule that allows me to keep up with my blog and enjoy doing it.

I hope everyone has a great 2011!! And good luck with your resolutions!