Holiday Cards

It's no secret, I am a planner, organizer, neat freak at times! I can't help it! I am the first born of a cuban catholic family and helped raise my younger siblings. It was bound to happen! So it's not very often that I get the chance to just sit down and do something from scratch without planning. What I have learned is that it can be fun, but has no consistancy. So when I send out holiday cards this year, don't be upset if you don't have the same one, they all had the same amount of love put in them :) I just found ribbon, and went off inspiration. Tell me what you think(in the comments!) if you can! I need the constructive critacism before I start on some more tomorrow night! (FYI, these were from November 19th)

TEACHER GIFTS!!!

So I have been following some of Shanna's (http://scrappysketches.blogspot.com/) altered items and I LOVE THEM! How this mom creates so much stuff with twin toddlers and working full time I have NO IDEA!

I decided to make these for teacher gifts as ornaments can be expensive!

I used DCWV christmas glitter paper, American Crafts stitched ribbon, and Adirondack metalic silver daubbers. All big favorites for me!

Trying out some Coasters (for andrea)

I don't think I am cut out for coaster swaps.... you be the judge (in the comments!)

Camryn is Historically part of the Falkman's!

As most of you can imagine, parents putting pictures in photo albums when you have 4 kids can be a ton of work to keep up on if you're a picture taker like me ;) Let alone trying to scrapbook all of it! I just don't know how I have let so much slip the past few months. I think it was mostly because I still didn't want to believe that Camryn was going to have real breaks in her seizures. Now that I can actually believe that, I have finally, Finally, FINALLY started her scrapbook and she is historically a Falkman.

Not much, but it's something!

My Two Peas in a Pod!

So we all know that Camryn has been through quite a bit this year, it's amazing when we look back at all the ups, downs, and inbetweens! She has had seizures, had breaks, and had real information to help her move on. It's amazing to me to know that we can go through this in one year, and know that we can get to this point again, should 2009 bring us more challenges.
I love the term "any given sunday" for just this reason. Though a football quote, it has so much meaning for those who believe... believe in whatever, ya know? We lived week to week, day to day for some time and we can finally book things a few weeks out in advance. It's a wonderful feeling. Camryn was at the 4 week mark when this picture was taken, now most parents don't want to show their kid completely banged up, but I see this photo as a badge of honor. On this day, Camryn was just a regular kid who fell too hard on the carpet goofing around on the stairs at daycare. No head injury, no black out, no seizure, and most of all, no hospital run! Just a regular kid, doing regular things. It brings hope, because this given sunday, Camryn was just that, Camryn :)



Now my girls are close in age, VERY CLOSE. 14 months to be exact. This was the hardest time in our lives. We were just finding out that Elli was dealing with the same global delays as Mikayla, and that we were going to take on an investment project to build a house. I finally stopped feeling sick from my gallbladder surgery and the liver set backs when I found out I was pregnant. So many people told me that after the first few years it would be the best thing ever and I would never look back to the time I was changing 2 diapers at a time 10 times a day, and feeding two kids who were almost at the same stage throwing food back at me, and that having two girls who couldn't walk gave me great bi-ceps. Instead I would remember the smiles, the giggles, and the laughs of two little angels who love nothing more than to spend almost every waking moment together. Ever since Camryn's last hospital stay in September, this is all I can think about. How much they missed each other, how they couldn't sleep well without each other, and how much they giggled with delight to see each other. I love taking pictures, mostly any pictures of my children, just because it gives me more than 1000 words, it gives me more than 1000 smiles, it gives me something that no one else can, complete appreciation for God working in his own mysterious ways :)

Second Snow storm of the Season

These pictures were taken in October, OCTOBER!!!! After the mild snow storm I posted a few posts back! I still can't believe that we can get this much snow at such an early time of year. We have been deprived of snow before christmas for 4 years now. The last time it snowed like this will be December 12th, 2003. The day we moved in of course! I think back to that time, when Davin was a toddler running the stairs to jump off and see how many he could clear, Elli was crawling in her snow suit on the floor, and Mikayla was so cold she snuggled in with Camryn in my belly. Dan and I looking at each other thinking, 5 years. 5 years to make this place our own and turn it around for a profit! How far things have come. The kids are older, the house isn't done, and the housing market has gone to crud. We are thinking this will be more like a 7-10 year home if the market stays the way it is. We just can't make the move closer until we can make a profit on the house, it has the bathroom, basement, deck, garage done, and we know that we both have a secure job. After all, moving closer, though a huge cost savings, not something we could afford with one income. It makes me wonder how people are making it happen in these times. As the snow falls, the holidays come closer, and businesses closing their doors, how are all families going to survive, what is infront of us that we don't know? And I hope, hope, hope, Obama can fulfil the only promise that mattered to me. To make a change for the better despite party lines. I hope that working together helps to relieve what we are all going through so that the worst thing I have to worry about??? is how much snow is going to be outside :)

"SheetLoad's Blog Candy Blow Out"

So I visit this great site to inspire my card creativity and it has the ability to create a stash for you in just a few hours, I love it!!! Which is why I have a permanent link on my site!

So they have this contest going on for this fabulous prize!

Here is the website...http://sheetload.blogspot.com/
And here is the specific post
http://sheetload.blogspot.com/2008/11/november-blog-candy-blow-out.html
Any paper crafter would love this sight and it helps those wanting to get into it really learn the constructing process!! Go check it out!

Trimming the Fat...

Yesterday was a a busy day. Month End closing is always a busy hustle and bustle. Sometime after lunch, my co-worker disappears for an impromptu meeting. I think nothing of it. As the time floats away and I am rushing to accomplish my tasks I can hear my co-worker moving papers around and sniffling. I thought about her sinus issues that she has been having and kept moving forward. After 10 minutes, I get up to send a fax and as I walk by her desk and see the box being filled just outside her office.
At this moment all the times seeing her talking instead of working, and coming in late, leaving early, and knowing that half the time she felt she didn't have enough work to sustain her hours there. I also had thoughts of all the opportunities she had to make something of her job, she had everything that most people want these days, the time to make her job her own, to help others, and a company that would have supported her in that.
Now I knew that this wasn't the job for her and that she will find something to better serve her and her family. This made me sad, but I did feel that the company would have suffered in the end. And the bottom line is that affects just more than me, it affects over 300 people.
So just after noticing that she was cleaning her desk for the last time I hear another co-worker telling our expense reports accountant that he was laid off. Then at that moment I realized that this affected more than just our department. Then we see more people cleaning out desks frantically. OMG, how many are affected?
As the dust settled we were called into a conference room (immediate team) and we dicuseed the magnitude and our fears. 35 people, hitting departments across the board. Some departments more than others due to larger volume. All contractors were to be phased out in the next 2-4 weeks as well. It was decided against what they wanted to set the business up for better profitability in 2009. Now I would have hated to be HR yesterday. Between telling 35 people, offering them a package, telling them they have 1 hour to remove their stuff, and police waiting outside should anyone react negatively. I was really glad it wasn't me :)
After our smaller team meeting, we were told that at 4 (one hour after everyone left) that we would have a company meeting. At the meeting the CEO told the perspective for the decision, which is not what people want to hear, and in reality, stock decisions are hard for some finance people, let alone engineers, marketing, and tech support people in the midst of all this trauma. So when the table was opened for discussion questions came from all angles, asking some of the following...

1. We lost alot of knowledge, was it really necessary to let them go so quickly?
2. Why was the stock price such a decision maker in all of this? I would have been okay with my stock price being lower to keep team members on.
3. What are we supposed to do with all the extra work when we are already feeling streched to meet certain deadlines?

All I heard was how people were griping that extra work would be so horrible for them. The whole time I am thinking, you are not one of the 35, what are you complaining about? You have more work, big deal, at least you have work. So as question after question came through and the bitching just kept going I was really feeling my blood boil. I could feel myself shaking. After all, I had the person I work with daily and two other people I work with very closely let go. If I was trying to remember that being thankful for a job was a good thing, why couldn't they?
So I have learned, getting mad gets you no where, because when expressing that than I am no better than they are, right? Well I think in my head that I need to say something, but also have a question (after all, that is why they 'open' it for questions, LOL) and then it comes to me. I wait until no one wants to ask questions anymore because I know that mine needs to be the last.

"Today was a sad day, we all lost friends, and even though we are sad, I guess I look at this a little differently. We all have been given an opportunity to become more efficient and more resourceful to replace the knowledge lost and become better individuals, teams, a better company, and be happy that we aren't the 35 that left today. What is Vital going to do to help us realize those opportunities and capitalize on them for personal growth?"

By the look on the CEO and executive team's face I knew that I had helped to turn the perspective of this difficult event around. The answer???

"Excellent point! We need to regroup, refocus our attention, learn all we can, and pull together to move forward. It's our responsibility to our shareholders to make this company stronger and more profitable, and we need to do that together. We should see more communication from your managers to help you and if you don't see that, then ask, demand, push for it."

I was impressed, an answer we could all relate to in this time of difficulty. It was a good way to close the meeting. All I wanted was to help others realize they weren't on the short end of the stick and they have the abiltity to learn new things and grow that may help them later for promotions, or god forbid, interviews should the company decide to lay off more people. Either way, they had time on their side :)

So as today went on, talking to co-workers I found that most people felt the cuts that were made business wise were smart, but some actually mentioned that we might be able to cut others if we needed to going forward. It seems like we are going the right way and opening up the table to making it a company wide effort to succeed. I am actually feeling pretty good about how I can help the company to move forward and I am confident this will help me become a better employee overall.

So trimming the fat didn't include me, and I hope it doesn't should the decision need to be made again :)

I am so ashamed :)

Dan's grandmother has some great old pieces that I have loved and admired for quite some time. Mostly because it gives such storage and function for not a little space. When Dan said this secreatary was available, I was thrilled. I knew I could use it as my own personal space. Now my cricut and cartridges have their own space to sprawl out on :)

The great part about a secretary is that the workspace opens up with a space for storage as well. I keep all the mostly used tools here, and hopefully, this will give me the quiet space to create everything on my "wish list" :)

My adhesives, bulk ribbon, completed cards, and my small to be completed projects :)

My Embellishment Drawer :)

My stamps (no, not all of them :), but my larger ones), inks, and card type stuff.

Something to store my letters, flowers, and other things that I need to see to use :)


Have you heard/seen of the scraponizer? They are amazing! I would like to add one of these to my stash (along with a cropper hopper to sort paper) at least once a quarter!

This helps me see where everything is and it's portable for crops!

Now with all this organizing, I realized the sheer magnitude of paper that I really have. It is almost too embarrassing to share, but it's kind of fun to show!
This is a 12" high bin that I can't close the lid on...

This is my scrap storage!


A random act of kindness to help myself not feel so bad?

Nursing the ill

So the last few days have kind of stunk since Halloween, Elli has been sick. Really sick! She has had a 103-104 fever with Tylenol and Motrin alternating for two solid days. So I was worried that her appointment (along with Camryn's depakote level check) would be a wash. Until it broke last night at 9 :)
I love driving places with my kids, there are so many things that I notice about them :)
Like, Elli crosses her legs in her carseat :)

That Camryn enjoys car rides and they really lighten her mood :)

Or that Davin really is making funny faces I can't see from the rear view mirror :)

Thank God for something to keep my sanity :)