Tonys car

Chaos and Life in General

Well I thought I was going to get back to a weekly blogging schedule back in June (over 6 months ago).  I should have know better!  At that time life was calming down & I thought I would have more time to get things accomplished.  Then I got yet another new job at Keiffer Auto Recyclers.  This job was a blessing.  Though I knew it was only temporary as I was learning to take over for their office manager when she went on Maternity leave.  I will say that even on the most stressful days that the office was the best atmosphere I have ever worked in.  The owner knows how to treat his employees & knows that if we aren't happy his paycheck is affected.  Well last Friday was my last day there & I am going to miss all the guys there. After 5 months of working there I was feeling part of the Keiffer Family.  So now I am faced with lots of free time as I start the job hunt all over again. 

My time with Keiffer is only part of the reason I didn't get back to blogging.  Life around here has been a little crazier than normal.  We had our usual summer craziness of 4-H projects & hogs.  Along with juggling work schedules as Jimmy's jeep blew the engine and 3 of us were sharing 1 car trying to make sure we all got to & from work was fun.  We survived & had finally got to the point where we had 3 running cars just as football season came around.  This helped cause Tony was able to take drive him & Dillon back & forth to practice.  Things were going smoothly.  The boys started school, Tony was enjoying his Senior year, even though he had gotten injured in practice & missed the first 3 football games of his Sr season.  Dillon was enjoying the fact that Mom's work was on the same route as the school so he got to sleep in daily and I would drop him off on my way to work.  Things were going great & looking up.

Then came fair week!  That one week every year when we meet ourselves coming & going.  It was good though cause Tony was released to play football and was dressing for the first time all season that Friday and since he had his own car he was able to take him & Dillon to football practice from the fairgrounds, and I didn't have to worry about working out the schedules.  We had a decent week at fair, the hogs didn't do as well as normal, and I managed to miss the entry deadline for all my fine arts projects.  But it we had a good week.  Friday night Tony dressed for the first time of his Sr season, but because he had been sitting out for 5 weeks the coach didn't play him but had him play the JV game the next morning as a warm up game.  Little did we know that would be the only game he dressed the whole season.

Then the world turned upside down!

I am back!!!!

Wow! It is hard to believe that it has been over 10 months since my last post.  A lot has been going on here at the Smith/Collins household.  Robbie & Dani got married on August 10.  Jimmy has finally got a running vehicle. Tony & Dillon have completed another year of high school.  I now have a Senior & Sophomore.  We survived football, wrestling & track season.  I got a new job working as a Cashier at Walmart, & survived working during the Christmas season.

Wrestling season of course is my favorite & Tony ended his season with a record of 19-16, he placed in all but 1 tournament he participated in.  Getting 3rd in the PAC Tournament, 5th at the Coshocton Classic, 6th at the Tuslaw Invitational even with having to forfeit 2 matches due to a concussion, and 5th in the Claymont D2 sectional tournament making him a district alternate.  Dillon finished 4-9 on the JV squad not bad for a kid who only wrestles so he can know how to counter his brothers moves.

Dillon decided to throw shot & discus during Track instead of playing baseball.  By the end of the season each throw was better than the last with his Personal record in discus being 74'9" & his Personal Record in Shot being 27'11".  Jimmy moved from crew member at Wendy's to shift supervisor.  He also was accepted into the Nursing program at Kent State Tusc this fall.  Robbie & Dani are both working at the local John Deere shop.  Dani is the parts girl & Robbie the mechanic. I am proud of all my boys & my daughter in love.

Now that I have caught you up on our lives, I invite you to join me on a little adventure in organization/cleaning.

II have Fibromyalgia, a condition that main symptoms are constant pain, depression & low energy.  I have been learning to deal with this life long condition since I was diagnosed in 2000.  I had been doing fairly well managing the condition up until 2009 when my stress level increased due to marital & financial problems.  This lead to me being depressed and with next to no energy to make it through a day.  It was at that time when the condition of my house started to decline.  It got bad as I was just surviving & pain was constantly preventing me from getting housework done.  It finally got to the point where it was so bad I didn't even know where to start on getting it back to looking like a livable home again.  Divorce, financial issues, severely stressful job situations and being unemployed didn't help my stress/pain levels at all.

Then in November I was hired on at Walmart and believe it or not since then my stress level has significantly lowered.  I still deal with constant pain, some days are better than others and still have days where getting out of bed is a big challenge.  The difference now is I am finally not feeling depressed and hopeless and I am trying to do something about getting my home back in order.  I know my house didn't get to be a disaster overnight, so it won't get cleaned & Organized overnight.  So I will be taking it slow, working on a room or 2 at a time until they are complete.  Doing more than on room allows me to focus on getting done chores that fit my pain & energy level for the day.

The organization and cleaning that needs done, does at times overwhelm me, but I when I am unable to physically able to clean I am now searching Pinterest for inspiration and ideas that work on an extremely small budget.   I have decided to start blogging my progress to help keep me motivated, share ideas & pins with others & to show my progress so on bad days I can see how far I have progressed.

Those of you who have checked out my blog for crafty inspiration don't worry I will still post my artwork & pictures of my scrapbook room also.

Thanks for reading Jenn.

Christmas in July Blog Hop

This week over at Inspired Stas we are showcasing our Christmas Stamps, in card sets.  If you have come here from Patty's Blog you are right on Track.

This week I used Blessed Little Christmas to create these two card sets.  The first in your traditional Red & Green, and the second in Blues.  My favorite combination is definitely the blue set.

Now hop right over to Chere's Blog to see what wonderful creations she has come up with.

If at anytime you get lost you can always go back to the beginning at Inspired Stamps Blog

Materials used: Blessed Little Christmas Stamp Set
CTMH materials used:
Red & Green set: White Daisy, New England Ivy cardstock, Mistletoe paper pack, black, ruby, and New England Ivy inks, Black Emborderey Floss, grey sparkles.
White Glitter paper by Coredinates.
Blue Set:  White Daisey, Sky,Pacifica, Outdoor Denim Cardstock. Black & Pacifica inks. Magnifique paper pack.
Irredescent ribbon from stash, White Glitter paper by Core-dinates.

June New Release - 2x2 Scripture Isaiah 41:10

It is New Release time over at Inspired Stamps Online Store.  Today the Inspired Stamps Desigfroeam is showcasing the New Releases that will be available for purchase on the Inspired Stamps store tomorrow at Noon.

My artwork today features the new 2x2 Scripture Isaiah 41:10.  I paired this with a sentiment from the Tags stamp set to create this Double side step Thinking of You card.

Materials used: Inspired Stamps 2x2 Scripture Isaiah 41:10, Tags 

Ctmh: LaBelleVie paper pack, Colonial White, Garden Green & Desert Sand Cardstock, Black & Grey Sparkles, Bitty Clear Sparkle, Black and Vineyard Berry Ink, Prisma Glitter and Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.

Playtime

It has been awhile since I have posted something other than a design Team post. 

Things have been Crazy around here and even though I have gone to a couple of crops I haven't got much done.  Last crop I went to I only got 2 one page layouts done.  Of course I spent most of my time helping my 13 year old niece, Nadine  with her layouts. 

I decided today that I am going to try to start posting more again.  So keep your eyes out for more of my artwork. 

To start with here is a card Nadine and I made for her friends birthday.  Nadine wanted something different.  So we created this Double Side Step Card using the CTMH Dream Pop paper pack.  The K was cut out using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, and the balloons and banner are cut using the Artiste Cricut cartridge.

materials used: Dream Pop Paper, White Daisy Cardstock, Art Philosophy cricut cartridge, Artiste cricut cartridge, white embroidery floss, black ink.

Summer Time!!!

My youngest son has one more day of school left, before his summer vacation officially starts.  For me this means I have one more day of peace and quiet before the boys are home for the summer and this Mom's peace and quiet is about to end, and it means that I am officially the mother of a Freshman and a Junior.

So in honor of summer break, I have create this Card using His Plans For You stamp set.  Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my all time favorite verses, and with my boys growing up and me moving closer to having them all graduated.  It reminds me that God knows the plans he has for each one of them.