Friday, January 10, 2014

Don't Forget About Me!!

Hi Friends! Today I am heading into surgery on both of my hands...yes I said BOTH of my hands. So I am slightly nervous, anxious and in one aspect happy to be going in as my hands/fingers have been in so much pain. It makes it tough for a girl to craft for hours on end as I LOVE doing : )

Not to be TMI or gross anyone out but I for some reason have a body that loves to grow ganglion cysts in joints/knuckles on my fingers. I've had 4 removed already on 4 different fingers but never both hands at the same time. This will prove to be intersting with all the normal activities one does with their hands...fixing my hair, scratching my nose, crafting, even feeding myself. BUT I am blessed with an amazing hubby and two wonderful teenage kids who are going above and beyond to help me during recovery. 

I don't have an actual project to share with you all today but I do have a video where I talk a bit about my surgery, some upcoming DT projects, my fave TH/Sizzix Dies that they've been showing sneak peeks of for CHA and some fun photos of my family. I've never really done just a rambly crafty chat video before but hey, I was trying to use up some nervous energy last night when I made it and I wanted to let all of YOU my faithful followers that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth if you don't see a new post in the next few weeks. I will be rockin sutured bandaged hands for two weeks at least so that won't allow me to "play" for awhile. But I do have a few posts that I've scheduled to go up while I'm down. 

Here's the video...

Well...I'd better get off the computer and get myself ready. We have to leave in a little more than an hour for check in. Can I just say that I am craving a Starbucks BIG TIME!!!! This no eating/drinking the night before is killing me. I've already had at least one cofffee by now...lol. 

Thanks friends for stopping by and checking out another scrappy but more chatty post. I will miss you all while I'm gone but I will be back as soon as I'm able to use my hands. 

Keep checking back and don't forget about me :)

Monday, January 6, 2014

Gratitude!! My word for 2014!!

Hi Friends!! I trust that you all had a happy and safe New Year's Eve & Day. I have to admit my New Year didn't end and start off so well. For those of you who may not know, I have two children..well they're teenagers but will always be my babies :)

My son Tre', is 18 and when I came home from work on New Years Eve, he was doubled over in severe pain. I took him to the ER and there along with my hubby we sat for 6 hours while they ran tests and did scans and such to try and figure out what was causing this pain that came on so suddenly. 

They diagnosed him with Malrotation...you can read the full description of this diagnosis HERE. This "birth defect" as they called it, occurred when I was in my first trimester with Tre'. Up until December 31st, we had NO clue he had this let alone have any issues with this. I made a video that goes into more detail as to what they told us,what he has and the steps moving forward.

After being in the ER for 6 hours, they transported Tre' to Dorhnbeckers in Portland, OR. Even though he is 18, his diagnosis is a pediatric one so they sent us to one of the best children's hospitals to meet with the head pediatric surgeon. Luckily they didn't have to do emergency surgery as we all feared but instead they provided us with information and advice moving forward. So we are going to be following up with the doctors at Dorhnbeckers and proceed from there in regards to helping Tre' with this diagnosis. Along with his bowels and organs being flipped flopped and not fully attached to his abdominal wall, his appendix is on the left side tucked deep into his pelvic area so that will be removed more than likely. 

We just can't get over how he's played football for 12 years and tackle for the past 7 and had no flare ups or indications he had this Malrotation. I guess catching the nasty viral flu bug that's going around is what brought this to light for us.
 
Now I know you're thinking..wait...I thought ScrappinAbby was all about crafting, projects etc. While that is true...I'm also a mom first, a wife and crafting is certainly up there on my list of components that make up "Abby". So bare with me...I'm getting to the crafty part in a bit : )

Each year I look for a word or phrase that fits for me in the new year. After the events of what happened on New Years Eve and Day...I feel the word "Gratitude" is most definitely my word for 2014. I have so many things to be grateful for each day but especially for the recent 24 hours that were ending 2013 for us and beginning 2014. 

So I'm going to create a project based on that word/theme that I will be displaying in my craft room/home so I can see it everyday and be reminded exactly what I'm grateful for. I'll be doing a video on the project details later but for now I wanted to share this on my blog so I can look back at this and be reminded about how grateful I am for the health of my two kids, Tre' & Kaley as well as the health of my hubby Steve and how things for 2014 could have started off much worse had we not had access to excellent doctors, specialists and an amazing children's hospital, Dorhnbeckers, here in Oregon. 

Thanks for sticking with me on this "non-crafty" post. I wanted to share another part of my life with all of you and it means more than you know to see all the kind comments, messages and texts I've received from my friends in the "crafty world". 

Thank you all and I wish you nothing but happiness, health and the Attitude of Gratitude in 2014!!

 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

3 Girl JAM 2014 DT & Exciting Announcements!!

Hi Friends! Happy New Year!! Julie, the creative genius & owner of 3 Girl JAM (along with her two beautiful daughters) has an exciting announcement over on the 3GJ blog today!

She's announcing the new DT members today as well as those of us who are returning. I've been a proud 3GJ DT sista since August of 2012 and I can honestly tell you that I am really excited to continue being a part of this amazing DT and working with some super creative ladies...not to mention the chance to play with some of THE BEST Crinkle Ribbon out there along with all the other yummy goodies Julie has to offer in her shop.

Here's a short video with all the details...
 
 She's also made the announcement that the CHALLENGE BLOG will now run monthly, meaning each challenge will run for the full month instead of having a new one very two weeks. I've seen the challenge themes Julie has in place for the next 6 months and you will LOVE them!! I'm already working on my samples for the challenge blog. Here's a quick peek at my sample project that's up on the CB today...


And last but certainly not least...Julie has assigned each of us DT ladies a unique discount code that we get to share with all of you lovelies that follow us on the various forms of Social Media. Here's my code:

AH10

Be sure to use this code when you checkout at the 3GJ store and you'll receive a 10% discount on your entire order. This exciting discount starts today...January 4th. So don't delay...head over to the store and get yourself some of the yummy products Julie has to offer. 

There are more exciting announcements and releases coming from 3GJ so be sure to keep checking back for those posts. Trust me...I've seen what's coming and you won't want to miss it :)

Thanks again for stopping by and for checking out another ScrappinAbby post. 

Happy New Year & Happy Crafting!!