I'VE FOUND A "TREASURE CHEST" AND I'D LIKE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU!!!

I'm stopping by quickly to post a preview of my portion of the June Treasure Chest at Treasures-To-Scrap!!!

I was just over at the store and found that the download links are posted (it is already selling!), however, there is not a preview as yet! NO worries! The previews will be up sometime tomorrow morning, but I just could not wait to share with you as this MEGA KIT is GORGEOUS!!! Each new monthly Treasure Chest makes it's debut on the FIRST day of the month. My bad! I keep thinking today is the first even though I've been typing May 31st all day long. Now what does that tell you??? Be nice!!! :)

My preview will give you the color palette and I will just let you know that I've seen all of the contributions by all of the other participating designers and all I can say is WOWSERS!!! Lots of talented ladies at TTS and ALL for $5.99 (the price of one regular-sized kit)!!!

So, without further adieu, I present to you a sampling of Treasures-To-Scrap's "June Treasure Chest" - see you LOVELIES tomorrow!!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE JUNE TREASURE CHEST

Link will not be active until tomorrow :(

I will post ALL of the previews once they've been
uploaded tomorrow as mine alone does NOT
due the kit justice!!!

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SUPER SATURDAY SPECTACULAR SURPRISE HAS ARRIVED!!! WHERE HAVE I BEEN???

ROFL!!! I've used this title once before, however, I find it to be MOST appropriate for this "morning's" post!!!

I have SO much to share and I am SO very tired, so bear with me and I shall have to give it to you in installments as well as *Those Were The Daisies*!!!

I added to my SCROLLING MARQUEE and to my SIDE BAR a MOST incredibly AWESOME update on Trevor, son-in-law to Tracy Madsen (co-owner of Treasures-To-Scrap), who has been dealing with an failing pancreas and kidney. Well .... OMGosh .... I'm going to get weepy-eyed again just telling y'all ... this past Wednesday, the transplant team completed Trevor's transplant and his new pancreas and kidney both started working immediately!!! WOO HOO!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! A miracle indeed!

Rather than retell the entire story here, if you are interested in reading how this all came about from Tracy herself, please click here to be transported to Tracy's personal blog: LIFE OF CRAZY T

I have FAR surpassed my bedtime so I shall catch y'all over the weekend and reply to some comments (Yes Nancy, I have neglected to give y'all an update on how I've been feeling. LOL! Would you believe that I've been too busy to notice? He, he ...)

Thank you SO very much for SWEET and THANKFUL comments - I just LOVE creating goodies for y'all and it THRILLS me every time I get a new addition to the slideshow awaiting my approval or directly sent to my inbox!!! It lets me know that y'all ARE scrapping your PRECIOUS memories!!!

I may be back later on to post those previews that I mentioned the other night. One of them is my contribution to the June Treasure Chest at Treasures-to-Scrap, which is due to be released sometime today I believe!!! The other is another contribution for a VERY, VERY special cause and I will share that with you as well.

STAY-TUNED and BON SCRAPATIT!!!

Love and hugs,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 3:00 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order!!! ENJOY your weekend and may
it be a SCRAPPY one!!! XOXO

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SATURDAY IN THE PARK BATS 2000!!! WOWSERS!

YEP, for those of you with wheels turning wondering what in the heck I'm talking about - the first installment of *Saturday in the Park* reached 2,000 downloads today!!! WHOA! HOMERUN!!! Hit clear out of the ball"park"! That sends chills up my spine just thinking about how honored I feel to be a part of all of those scrapbooks!!! Now, promise me you won't just let those goodies sit on your hard drives!!! No crossies either! ROTFLMBO!!! How'd y'all guess it's RUM-DUMMY hour over here at Bon Scrapatit Designs??? LOL!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your WONDERFUL feedback and inspiration! I have been up to my eyeballs in projects and I've finished two (one just a bit ago) and have three to go!!! I would like to share them with you and give you a bit of information on how you might acquire them if y'all like what you see! (*fingers crossed ..... toes too*) I will post previews for you tomorrow night as it is getting VERY late over here in California!!!

I just LOVE viewing the slideshows every time I come onto my blog ... OH, correction, OUR blog!!! I mean, after all, your MASTERPIECES are adorning both the top and the bottom so I see y'all literally from TOP-to-BOTTOM!!!

Oh, I just have to tell you this real quick (is there REALLY such a thing with me?). I was finally able to get Robert's laptop (from work) online while he was at work today - YAY!!! NO! BOOOOOOO! He, he ... I called Todd, my ISP tech (such a jewel he is!) and he walked me through the obstacles that were preventing Robert from gaining access to the Internet even though the computer showed an Internet connection! So why BOO??? Because I do a lot of uploading and downloading as you can imagine and while downloading a new commercial-use item earlier this evening, it took nearly 45 minutes to complete as opposed to the usual say, five-to-seven minutes when I'm the only one online! PHEW! What a difference, eh? Can you imagine what it'll be like if he is on and I am having to upload or download multiple files???? HORRORS!!! Here's hoping he finds television more appealing MOST of the time!!! ROFL! *BIG cheshire cat grin*

Okay, close your eyes! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO peeking until I say open them!!! ROFL! Now you know I have SERIOUSLY lost it, eh? LOL!

Here is your goody for tonight, installment #10 of *Those Were The Daisies*. I think it just might be one of my faves. Can you believe we are now up to 30 papers in this series!!! Tomorrow, I shall work on an alpha. I know that MANY of you are seasoned scrappers so I try to give you the pieces with which to be creative - meaning that I do not decorate them a lot. For those of you were are fairly new or brand new to digital scrapbooking, I shall be creating some "scrapatits" (my version of a scraplet) to make creating some quick layouts much simpler for you. I will start working on some in the next day or two.

Hope everyone is having a FABULOUS week and I shall see you manana (visualize the tilde por favor)!

Love and hugs,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 3:10 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order! Be prepared to be amazed. 4-shared
has a BRAND new look and quick as lightning (almost)
download access! Have y'all been writing to them??? LOL!

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THERE'S A WHOLE LOTTA SCRAPPIN' GOIN' ON!!!

ALL over the world - TONIGHT!!! Another way of saying that it is SCRAP HAPPY HOUR 24/7 in SCRAPLAND!!!

And this girl is FINALLY on her way to bed! Sorry for the LATE delivery of tonight's goodie, but TOO many distractions have come my way and I'm just now getting it uploaded for y'all!!!

Thank you SOOOOOO much for all the SWEET comments about Kaleb, Zeke and *Those Were The Daisies*!!! Y'all are FAR too kind and I love you for it!!! Well, that and MANY other reasons!!!

Before it slips my mind, please check out my GOOD friend, Snowsmoon Designs blog right away before she starts removing the first portion of freebies from her *New Arrival* scrapkit!!! They are ADORABLE and are not the traditional pastels. Take a "peek" HERE and let her know that I sent you over while you are leaving her some LOVE!!! Thank you! Stay-tuned as she begins to post the next batch of goodies!!! She is creating an album for me with them so that I will have a page for each month for the first year of Kaleb's life!!! Thanks again girlfriend - you're spoiling me!!!

Here is tonight's installment, #9, of *Those Were The Daisies* - hope you like it!!! Now, you've just got to be figuring that I'm due to post you another scrapatit or an ALPHA, right??? He, he .... y'all are SO smart!!!

I wanted SO badly to pay tribute to Robert's son, Joshua, on Memorial Day for his four years of service in the U.S. Marine Corp and for his THREE deployments to Iraq, two of which were served in Fallujah!!! THANK YOU Joshie!!! We LOVE you and are SO happy that you are now living in the BEAUTIFUL state of Tennessee with your LOVELY wife, DARLING baby boy and new little bundle due in January!!! You can see a few layouts that I have created in the past for Josh below in my personal slideshow. Several of them were scrapped using a 3S designer collaboration called *Duty and Honor*. I felt SO honored to have been able to contribute to this WONDERFULLY incredible tribute to our men and women of the U.S. military branches!

Again, I thank ALL who have served and who are serving in our military and helping to preserve our freedoms!!! Y'all ROCK ... and then some ... and then some MORE!!!

SWEET DREAMS ...

XOXO,
Linda :)

P.S. The first image is a compilation of ALL downloads offered for this series to date. All downloads are still available in the event that you have missed any!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

LOL!!! I almost forgot! The time is 5:00 am PST -
link has been tested and is in proper working order!!!
BON SCRAPATIT y'all!!!

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Ladies, ladies (gentleman if any reading), PLEASE give me an answer do ....

Whatever shall you do with ALL of the goodies I've given to you??? Scrap with them of course and then share with me and the ENTIRE world by adding to the slideshow above!!!

LOL!!! My twist on "Bicycle Built For Two"! Yes, it is LATE and I am rum-dummy! You are getting to know me all TOO well!!!

I shall be quite brief tonight. I did not get a bit of scrapping or designing accomplished this weekend, but that is all right as I had a SWEET treat today that was LONG overdue!!! Yes, I had a NICE visit with Kaleb and his mommy and daddy! I have not visited with them in several weeks and Mark stopped by last week to pick his diploma up from me and DID NOT tell me that he had Jessica and Kaleb waiting in the car!!! Little stinker!

Kaleb is growing SO nicely and I simply ADORE his red hair!!! I was just mentioning to Robert a bit ago that it NEVER even occurred to me, while Jess was pregnant, that we might have another redhead in the family!!!

Below I am posting a photo of Zeke, who immediately invited himself atop Kaleb's diaper bag while still over Jessica's shoulder!!! He is such a cutie and getting MORE and MORE playful by the day. I am also posting a couple of photos that Mark took with the new digital video camera that they bought last night. LOOK OUT!!! He's had me for a role model and is already chasing people out of the room when the camera zooms in their direction!!! Mind you, this was first thing in the morning before everyone had dressed for the day!!! LOL! OMGosh .... I am definitely experiencing a taste of my own doings after ALL of these years!

Have a WONDERFUL Memorial Day y'all! Robert and I watched the last half of the Memorial Day Concert on PBS earlier this evening. Where are the kleenex when you need them??? AWESOME tribute. I am continually thankful for those who put their lives on the line each day so that I and my fellow countrymen and women may continue to experience living life in a country with FREEDOM to .... (you fill in the blanks)! THANK YOU!!!

Thank YOU ALL for sharing with me what your plans were for the weekend and for ALL of your SWEET and LOVELY comments!!! I hope that y'all enjoy installment #8 of *Those Were The Daisies*!!!

HAPPY MONDAY and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to those celebrating!

BIG HUGGINS',
Linda :)

Awwwww ... Grandma's baby boy!!! Just wanna kiss that
sweet face of yours Kaleb! So hard to believe you will be seven
weeks old tomorrow sweetheart!!! I love you! XOXO

You would have to see this for yourself to get the whole
picture (no pun intended!), but since Jess has grown up
with her dad owning a Harley-Davidson, it was NO
surprise for me when my grandson arrived sportin'
tatoos (rub-on's naturally), a muscle shirt, shorts and
cute little Harley-Davidson booties!!! The kids were
on their way to a friend's baby shower here in town and,
of course, they had to take Kaleb love in style!!!

LOL! Kaleb already has his mommy and
daddy's mischievous grin!!! Isn't he too sweet!

Kaleb sleeping with his daddy! Awwwww ....

Our little Zeke climbing aboard Kaleb's diaper bag to say
hello to Jess when she arrived! Such a social little guy!!!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 1:00 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order! REMEMBER: It's SCRAP HAPPY
HOUR 24/7 in SCRAPLAND!!! How AWESOME is that!!!

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*THOSE WERE THE DAISIES* #6 AND SWEET DREAMS!!!

I guess this has just been an "extra" busy week for me as I've just not had much energy! Most of you have suggested in your comments that you will be staying home this weekend - ME TOO!!! Is it that I am getting older or is it just being a bit "burnt" out from ALL of the years of running around and doing that make me long for quiet weekends at home with my family?

How about y'all? Do you prefer time spent at home with your loved ones or do you prefer gallivanting (meant in a GOOD way - to wander in search of some form of merriment or pleasure) around whether it be shopping, exploring, driving, or traveling about the globe??? This inquiring mind wishes to know!!! I really think that my lack of enthusiasm to do any gallivanting has to do with the way that I've been feeling. I really cannot be on my feet more than two hours before feeling as though I've been hit by a MACK truck!!! I look forward to feeling SUPER peppy again and challenging my family to a hike or something! LOL!!! Shhhh .... don't tell them!

We do have our bi-annual family reunion camping trip coming up during the week of the fourth of July!!! I am surely hoping to be prepared for this WONDROUS event as it is generally VERY, VERY hot at San Luis Resevoir! This girl does NOT tolerate heat very well anymore!!! I just LOVE celebrating with Robert's family as y'all know!!! MAJOR photo op!

ROFL!!! Zeke has awakened from a nap on the bed with Robert and is entertaining himself while I post!!! He is just the CUTEST and both Robert and I are SO thrilled to have him. He REALLY is a WONDERFUL addition to the family and he is such a GOOD boy!

Here it is Memorial Day weekend and everyone is looking forward to three days on the lake only to find that our weather is not very accommodating this year! We had thunder and lightning rolling through earlier and it is supposed to rain tomorrow!!! I am THRILLED! I LOVE the cooler weather and it can just take it's sweet time getting hot here in Copper!!!

Well, I've rattled enough. My eyes are at half-mast and I should get myself moving along to bed so I will awake early and get a GOOD start on a few of my projects. Sharon, you are TOO funny!!! You are not THAT old and to be honest with you, the Memorial Day celebrations that I shared with y'all last night are the ONLY ones I remember!!! I guess this is ONE reason why I really wish to get my memories scrapped as quickly as I am able, before I forget them ALL!!! EEEEEKS! That is NOT a pleasant thought! I SHALL scrap my heritage, I SHALL!!! (the POWER of positive thinking!)

Lisa, $1,000 to fill your boat??? That is INSANE!!! Okay, I don't say a whole lot about things happening in our country outside of my four walls, BUT .... what do y'all think is going to happen when the majority of us have had ALL of our recreation taken away from us and all one has to do is go to work to put food on the table and to put gas in the car to get to and from??? ALL work and NO play makes Jack a dull boy, however, I think it will go a bit further than that!!! I sincerely hope that things begin to turn around for us.

Jeanie dearest, "thank you" for the honor of being tagged!!! You are about the tenth person to tag me over the past several weeks and I've not even had time to respond on my blog!!! I don't wish to offend anyone, but I seriously DO NOT have the time to play tag! It was actually my VERY favorite game in my early years of elementary school!!! I have been meaning to post a banner at the top of my blog which will read something to this effect: BASE: this blog is a TAG-FREE zone!!! He, he ....

I am over a month behind on one of my deadlines, so I honestly cannot respond to any tags. Funny thing is, the first few times it actually "stressed" me, but then I just gave myself a pep talk and convinced myself that it does not make me a "bad sport", I just have obligations that supersede having a little fun at the moment!!! I hope y'all understand that might be reading and have tagged me! I LOVE y'all, but no can do! LOL! I am an OPEN BOOK, so you will find out a lot about me anyhoo.

Sallie, I will have to share with y'all about my recent visit the other day with my psychologist who is like a part of our family!!! I will let y'all know why I am seeing him again after two years - it's ALL good! Anyway Sallie, I asked Dr. Rourke if there was something wrong with my being SO emotional (my boys like to tease me sometimes!). ABSOLUTELY not he said, "you are a very passionate person"!!! YUP!!! That BE me!!! It is SO nice to be validated at times!

Well, I've overstayed my welcome so I will have to continue another time! I've had an "AH, HA" moment and that is why I am counseling with Dr. Rourke again. I am hoping to reprogram the way in which I respond to certain things due to events throughout the course of my life. I am a TOTAL believer in sharing our experiences in hopes that someone else may relate and benefit in even a small way. I thrive on learning .... learning brings about growth .... growth brings forth change and I ALWAYS wish to be moving forward! WOO HOO! I much rather "makeover" the inside of me than the outside!!!

I believe that "stress" ages us faster than anything so I really wish to learn what my stressors are (I'm going to do some bio-feedback) so that I may use some helpful tools to prevent them from becoming overwhelming.

SWEET DREAMS everyone .... have a SUPER Saturday!!! I am glad that y'all are really liking this series, *Those Were The Daisies*!!! Thank you for ALL of your LOVELY comments!

BIG HUGS,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 2:20 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order!!! Have a GORGEOUS day y'all!

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WOO HOO!!! IT'S FANTABULOUS FREEBIE FRIDAY Y'ALL AND THE KICK-OFF TO MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

LOL! POOF!!! PSYCH! I will be short however as the past two days have had me bustlin' about and not spending much time on the computer for one reason or the other! It's ALL good!!!

How is everyone this FABULOUS Friday? Day before the BIG weekend of paying tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives for us and our country, as well as others!

How do y'all spend your Memorial Day weekend? Do you go camping? Have a picnic? Go to the lake, mountains or ocean? I'd LOVE to hear about your family's traditions on this VERY special weekend. I remember as a young girl, my family would spend the day at Memorial Park here in Northern California, with my father's co-workers for a HUGE Memorial Day picnic. The creek would be well-stocked with trout and my dad would fish to his heart's content and would even cast a pole in for my little brother and I!!! I did not care to fish, as I was TOO tender-hearted and the first time I ever caught one (this was at a lake on another adventure!), I cried until my dad threw it back into the lake from whence it came!!! YUP, and I NEVER fished again!!! Rather ironic being that my FAVORITE protein and usual source of it is FISH!!! LOVE salmon! SHEESH ... it's after midnight and I've just awakened my salivary glands!!! ROFL!

Anyhoo, as I was saying, I'd LOVE to hear all about your past Memorial Day weekends or even what y'all are up to THIS Memorial Day weekend!!!

Memorial Day weekend here in Copperopolis kicks off boat and water-skiing season at our BEAUTIFUL Lake Tulloch! I'm afraid to see where our gas prices go to. We only have two gas stations and they get jam-packed on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Our current price for regular unleaded is $4.20/gallon! I'm keeping my mouth closed on this one!!!

***NOTE*** - I am removing the password from the *Those Were The Daisies* series. I really am not seeing a need for it at this time and this will also make it easier for y'all as well as me!!! No MORE boo-boo's!!! Well, at least not in the password department!

Have an AWESOME weekend everyone and I shall see you in the next day or two! BE SAFE!

Baci e abbracci,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

It is 1:30 am PST - link has been tested and is in proper
working order!!! Thank you for the OH, SO lovely layouts
added to the new slideshow thus far!!! I am LOVIN' it -
PLEASE keep them coming. Y'all are AMAZING!!! XOXO

LOL! And here I was trying to make it easier on all of us and
I still boofed!!! Thank you for being SO sweet in letting me
know that it was still asking for a password. I FORGET to
hit the SAVE button after removing it! Yes, another LATE
night!!! It should not ask you for a password now - PLEASE
let me know if it does!!! HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!!!

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A NEW SLIDESHOW AND, OF COURSE, A FREEBIE!!! *THOSE WERE THE DAISIES* #5!!!

POOF!!! She's here and gone! Can ya believe it???

See you all tomorrow ... it's been a VERY busy day today, but I just HAD to stop by to drop off *Those Were The Daisies* installment #5!!!

Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday and I hope to catch you a little earlier tomorrow night!!!

SWEET DREAMS ...

XOXO,
Linda :)

P.S. Password is: OldDays (My bad y'all - I initially put a 'space' between the two words! I told you that I stay up WAY too late!!! Next time HOLLER at me! LOL!)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 1:50 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order!!! I've started a new slideshow
for *Those Were The Daisies*. Please feel free to add
your creations at your convenience!!! You KNOW I can't
wait to see them!!! THANK YOU - y'all ROCK!!!

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WELL MY DIGI FRIENDS, ARE THERE MORE DAISIES IN THE FUTURE FOR YOU???

You bet your SWEET bippy there are!!! I am NOT sure how long this series will go, but I sure am having FUN at the end of my days, sitting here, relaxing and unwinding from the day's events - just ENJOYING myself as I prepare another installment for y'all!!! This REALLY is relaxing for me, as I am sure that MANY of you find it to be as well!!!

Linda's definition of "pain management":
D-I-G-I-S-C-R-A-P-P-I-N-G (and/or designing!!!)

I am one of those who elects not to take pain meds as we don't mix well! When asked if I have any allergies to medications, I reply, "not clinically", but codeine and I don't get along well! Let's just say, any type of pain medication makes me feel like I'm on drugs!!! ROFL! Okay, there was suppose to be some humor in that, y'all know what I mean!!! I get flushed, break out in a sweat and then will develop chills. NOT a good experience!!!

I've not taken codeine since giving birth to Luke and John nearly 19 years ago! I had developed a clot in my left leg and they gave me codeine and I had, what "I" consider to be, a bad reaction. I remember my first experience at the age of 19 while undergoing a root canal. I was working at Long's Drug Store and lived just a few blocks away. I would walk home for lunch on occasion. My dentist had left my tooth open and put me on codeine to keep the pain minimal!!! Long story short, a sweet elderly lady asked me where the nearest mailbox was and I went into a rather "long" (you are NOT surprised ARE you???) verbal dissertation and I swear I felt like I had talked to her for 20 minutes or so!!! I was OUT OF IT!!! I ended up excusing myself to the ladie's room at work and proceeded to get sick. Needless to say, I went home for the rest of the day and slept it off! UGH!

I have a HIGH threshold for pain so when I am in discomfort and/or some serious pain, I just plop myself down in my computer chair and get creative!!! Well, I try anyhoo. Sometimes I may just sit here and stare at the screen for awhile until my brain wraps around the fact that "I" wish to design or scrap!!! LOL! Really though, I will sit here and tinker until I feel that I can crawl into bed and go right to sleep.

Before I forget, I finally was able to get information about the collapsed ride at our local fair online yesterday. Thank God, NO ONE was killed and the ones who were hospitalized were all released yesterday. I believe the total number of injured was 18 and, of course, the cause of it's failure to perform properly is still under investigation. The Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee came to end yesterday evening. Ahhh shucks! I mean, OH RIBBIT! I was going to announce to you this year's winning frog and I've already forgotten his name!

Luke's girlfriend, Tessa, raised and showed a couple of chickens. She placed third and fourth!!! WAY TO GO TESSA!!! By the way, my PA's daughter had been ill on Friday, causing my appointment to be rescheduled for this past Thursday. While in with Stephanie, I asked how her daughter was. She told me that everything was better over the weekend and that "her" daughter was showing chickens. Uh, huh .... Amy and Tessa know each other. Small world ... small TOWN living!!! Tessa delievered one of those chickens to us today ... uhm ... let's just say, it's ready for the bar-b-que!

Nancy dearest, I apologize for not having the results of my blood work posted! My post was already LONG enough and talking about that would have made for a novel!!!

I will catch you all up on those findings over the next couple of days. Everything came back looking good and I have a couple of things to share with you on that which REALLY, REALLY made me feel GOOD and just might prove to be interesting!!!

I have a few more projects to complete by month's end and then I hope to start working on some kits to sell!!! I am going broke with all the shopping I do for commerical goodies, but GOSH, I just cannot resist!!! ROFL! I am just not as fast a designer as some and I am not allowing myself to "stress" anymore because we ALL know that is not good for us, don't we??? He, he ... All things in their proper time! I REALLY do enjoy creating a little each day and sharing it with my GOOD friends all around the world!!!

Thank you SO, SO very much for ALL the LOVIN' y'all leave me on 4-shared and HERE! Y'all are just WAY too sweet and put BIG smiles on my face first thing in the morning!!! I LOVE reading your feedback on whatever topic happens to come up!

Without further adieu, here is *Those Were The Daisies* #4! I would LOVE to see your MASTERPIECES using this series and just as soon as I begin to receive some, I will move the current slideshow down below and start a new one for *Those Were The Daisies*!!!

As soon as I am caught up and back in the swing of things, I have been wanting to post a bit of a challenge for you forever now and hope to be able to do so in the near future. I have a HEAD full of ideas, but my body is not cooperating!

Night darlins' - have a BEAUTIFUL tomorrow (today)!!!

XOXO,
Linda

P.S. Password is: OldDays

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TO RIDE OR NOT TO RIDE? HMMMM . . .

Well, I don't wish to be a "kill-joy", but some of y'all know I live in the WONDERFUL Mother Lode in Northern California, Calaveras County to be exact! Yes, HOME of the annual and INFAMOUS "Frog Jumping Jubilee" also found in the writings of Samuel Clemons aka Mark Twain!!!

One can take a drive through the smallish town of Angels Camp and feast their eyes upon frogs of various varieties as it is, indeed, the city's icon! My boys attended Bret Harte High School whose mascot is none other than a "bullfrog"! Never could figure out though why the school colors are purple and yellow!!! LOL!

I actually had one of my boys drive me from one end of the city to the other a few years back just so I could take photographs of as many frogs that I could see from the car window!!! You will see signs, statutes, banners, paintings and as you walk down the sidewalk of downtown Angels Camp, rather than engraved "stars" of Hollywood celebrities, you will see metal engraved plates with the names of previous frog jumping champions (yes, I am talking about "the frogs" themselves!) embedded in a slab of concrete, also known as the sidewalk!!! It really is GREAT fun each year and the Calaveras County Fair draws people from hundreds of miles away. The event is kicked off with a parade through the downtown area and then all other events are held at the fairgrounds.

Ha! I just happened to remember that I have a two-page layout that I scrapped of my two youngest boys, twins, from a decade ago, which was the first time that I took them to the Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jumping Jubilee!!! I will post below!

Well, now that I've painted a pretty picture for you, something tragic happened yesterday and I've not stopped thinking about it since my son, Mark, called me from work to tell me what happened.

One of the carnival rides, "the yo-yo", collapsed. Yes, the entire ride came tumbling down. I have been hearing conflicting stories from three of my sons as I've not yet heard for a "fact" whether or not anyone lost their life (I pray not), but there were several serious injuries as a few people were medi-flighted out to to the nearest trauma center which is over an hour away by car. Many others were taken by ambulance to our local hospital in San Andreas.

The reason I'm even mentioning this is that YEARS ago, I stopped taking my children to carnivals or fairs to go on rides as I can remember when the "light bulb" went off one year as I watched the "carnies" operating various rides and thinking to myself how these huge pieces of metal and machinery are carted around the country, put together and taken apart OVER and OVER again in a matter of a few days. At that moment, I deemed them a "risk" and no longer wished to "risk" the lives of my children in such a manner. Yes, I know that we take a "risk" each time we step foot outside of our homes (well, sometimes it can be risky inside as well!), but this was a "risk" that I could prevent from having a negative outcome, right? Uh, huh! Let's just say, carnival rides are not a necessary part of childhood! Yes, they are FUN, but given the fact that the people putting these rides together are not even given a background check, tells me not to put my trust into those thrilling adrenaline-rushing machines!

As a side note, while trying to find out information on this MOST unfortunate event, I read that they had just arrested two carnival workers. One was from Massachusetts and had a warrant out on him. And they both were found to be unregistered sex offenders. Hmmm .... not exactly the kind of people you wish to see hanging around a lot of children, eh? I rest my case. Let me just say, I am not a paranoid person, quite the opposite actually as I live in a very peaceful state of existence. I guess as we get older, we really do become wiser and I know for me, I have definitely become much more "cautious". I've also learned to go with my "gut" instinct, which I believe was given to us for a great purpose - survival!

Enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoy tonight's freebie, which is another addition to *Those Were The Daisies*. It was brought to my attention by "GRAMMY" that two of the papers showing in the preview for the first part were missing! My bad! Thank you "Grammy"!!! I am adding those two papers in with tonight's download. As I mentioned to someone earlier, I think me needs to work on posting earlier in the day as I'm usually about brain dead at this time of the night .... or should I say, morning!!! He, he ....

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences with doctors and/or health issues, as well as your insights. I REALLY love reading your comments and I SO appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers coming my way. While I am improving in some areas, I still have good days and bad days. What I mean by that is, some days I feel that I can conquer the world while others I feel that the world has conquered me!!! ROFL!!! Yesterday was one of those. I left the computer and went to bed! WOO HOO for me! Ha, ha, ha, ha .... sure shocked Robert! He's SO sweet and funny. Sometimes when I climb into bed, which is literally two steps away from my computer chair, earlier than usual, I hear this comforting voice ask me what time it is. Oh, it's a little after midnight I may tell him. Robert's reply, "What are doing in bed so early, it's not three o'clock yet"!!! I just LOVE this man! He SO understands me!!! I go to bed when I know I will fall right to sleep - in other words, when I am tired!!!

Have a SUPER Sunday my friends and if I don't see you tomorrow night, I shall see you Monday!!!

BTW - Zeke is getting along right nicely and tomorrow makes one week ago that he was delivered to me for Mother's Day by son #2, Mark (Kaleb's daddy!). Can you spoil a kitty with too much love? Not on your life!!! Let's just say, he's beginning to think I'm his mama! He goes to his litter box all by himself, but when he is hungry, he comes to me so that "I" will carry him over to his food dish!!! He is TOO darned cute I tell you. The other thing that just "gets" me every time is that all I have to do is lower my hand towards the ground and he reaches up with his sweet little paws for me to pick him up. I shall share more about Zeke next post.

Oh, Jeanie, if you happen to stop by - WOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I am SO thrilled at your GOOD report girl!!! I tell ya, with all the support, well-wishes and prayers we get from our digi-sisters, how can we not get GOOD reports!!!

I think most of you know Jeanie aka Scrapdoctor Designs. If not, please stop by and take a peek at her WONDERFUL goodies, the most recent of which will have your mouth puckering!!! You can find Jeanie HERE (I just realized that I forgot to add Jeanie's link to my sidebar when I first discovered here last month. I shall add her there as well so you can hop right on over there from here with ease!!! While you are visiting Jeanie, please make sure to read her "dirty" story!!! ROFL! I'll be back over there when I get up tomorrow to finish reading and to download her FABULOUS creation!

SWEET DREAMS y'all ....

Love and hugs,
Linda

P.S. Password is: OldDays

TINK - I know you probably won't see this and I feel horrible for not being able to say "bon voyage", but I surely hope that you are having the time of your life in Orlando!!! Say "hello" to everyone for me!!! LOL! I look forward to your return home and some LOVELY layouts on your blog girlfriend!!!

Layouts created in 2005 by me and using *A Fair to Remember*
by Christina Bartholomew (as you can see, the boys were young, 8-1/2
and only rode the kiddie rides.) The journaling is in the form of a
poem that was written by me! Thanks for looking! :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 5:00 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order! Have a GREAT day everyone! :)

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IT'S ALL GOOD!!! AND TO CELEBRATE .... A FREEBIE FOR Y'ALL ON FANTABULOUS FREEBIE FRIDAY!!! WOO HOO!!!

Okay, so y'all know you'll get a FREEBIE no matter what, but I just have to share some GOOD news with you even though all is not "said and done" in regards to my digestive woes.

I saw Stephanie today (I LOVE YOU STEPHANIE!!!) for a follow-up on all tests done thus far. You'll find this little tidbit rather interesting as I made note of it to Stephanie right away. When seeing Dr. Jacobsen on Tuesday, he pulled a copy of my CT scan report off the computer, printed out a copy and handed it to me on his way back into my room and said, "you're fine" - results are normal (don't you just LOVE that word - NORMAL?). Mind you, I TRULY enjoyed Dr. Jacobsen (he will be performing my colonoscopy next month), however, I did not agree with him on a certain matter and just kept quiet as it was really unimportant at the time and not something that would interfere in my using my own approach to the matter! I'm pretty good at discerning when it is just best for me to "sit on it"!!! HOWEVER, when it comes to something that is virtually out of my hands and in the doctor's, then I will speak my mind in hopes that we can at least negotiate! LOL! There are already two doctors that I will not ever see again (God willing) due to their "I am the doctor, you are the patient" attitudes!!! I actually had one tell me that I read TOO much!!! HA! Stepping on your turf am I dear doctor?

I always try to remind people that doctors are merely "practicing" medicine - they DO NOT know everything! Don't misunderstand me please, I do seek the care of health professionals, but prefer to confer with those that consider me to be "in the know" just as much as they are. After all, who knows my body better than me?

I had a friend and colleague share a link with me last night. Although, I am sure that most of you will already relate to the article, there may be some who have yet to encounter "doubt" in what a doctor is or isn't telling you. I SO believe that we were given "gut instinct" for helping to make important choices. I am learning in my older age to stop "second guessing" myself and to go with my first thought! If only there were a camera to photograph what goes on in my mind when attempting to "second guess"!!! LOL! I think it may resemble something like a GOOD volley on the tennis court! WAY past my bedtime!!! Not sure I'm going to make it there tonight .... uhm, I mean this morning! Oh well, I can cat nap along with Zeke!!!

You can find the article by clicking HERE

Now, back to the topic of my CT scan. There was a note made on the report that my uterus was somewhat prominent. Well, I was not quite sure what that meant and had meant to ask, but the doctor and I traveled down another avenue of conversation!

Well, when Stephanie read the report, she decided that she wanted to examine me once again, just to make sure that she hadn't missed anything. Long story short, she is VERY keen on the fact that ovarian cancer is a silent killer and extremely easy to miss. She figures that, YES, I am going through the change but still wishes to follow me closely just to make sure that nothing is awry in that department.

I got a few chuckles out of her when I brought it to her attention that Dr. Jacobsen walked in and said, "you're fine" without giving it a second thought! POINT-IN-CASE: As women I, personally, believe that we are in much better hands with another woman than a man. Men do not feel what we feel, nor do we know what they feel. I am SO happy to have found Stephanie and I hope she stays put for a long while!!!

I did plead my case as to how much better I feel (for the first time in years) since being put on the Armour Thyroid a little over a month ago. Stephanie did tell me that I have been over-corrected and I talked her into letting me go another 4-6 weeks to see if I remain stable. If I drop any lower, I will agree to a lower dosage of the Armour. Thank you for listening to the needs of your patient Stephanie, you are a love.

Dr. Jacobsen told me when I conferred with him on the Thyroid issue, that I was borderline. Well, after returning home this morning from seeing Stephanie, I realized that my TSH was not 0.6 something after all, but it was 0.06!!! EEEEEKS! My bad! Oh well! Of course the concern is that I not go in the opposite direction and become hyperthyroid!!! I find that rather amusing!

SHEESH!!! I'm sorry. I'm sure I've bored you enough already and I haven't even touched on the result of my blood tests!!! I'll save that for tomorrow or over the weekend.

Thank you SO much again and again for your LOVELY, SWEET and UPLIFTING comments!!! Y'all just know how to make a person feel good! I feel SO behind on blog visiting and responding to your comments. I will try to catch up a bit over the weekend. I have done pretty well with keeping up with my e-mails. I still have several projects with deadlines that I need to tend to over the course of the next few weeks.

Start marking your calenders so that y'all can come and join me on the 12th of June for my Half-n-Half chat at 3Scrapateers. This comes just ONE day after my birthday, so ya just got to know that we are going to have a PAR-TAY, right??? Uh, huh!!! You bet your sweet bippy we are. And I just LOVE giving out goodies on my birthday!

I have a couple of SHOUT OUTS for family members real quick before I leave. Dearest brother, if you are reading this, I received your e-mail and I shall be calling you on Sunday. HI JEN!!! I saw your mom the other day and found out that y'all have been checking out my blog, so I told her I would say HELLO to you and now that I know you are visiting, I shall try and get some layouts and or photos up for you!!!

Y'all will LOVE seeing some photos of Jen and Levon's baby girl, Halia. She just celebrated her first birthday on the VERY same day that Kaleb was born!!! How's that for timing!

Night all ... well, okay, GOOD MORNING y'all!!! Have a SUPER, ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC weekend and I'm just now realizing that it is FANTABULOUS FREEBIE FRIDAY here at Bon Scrapatit Designs!!! ENJOY!

Love and hugs,
Linda

P.S. Password is: OldDays

I've added a section to my sidebar, just below the BLOG ROLL entitled, OFF THE SUBJECT. I have already added one link to a FABULOUS site on thyroid issues. It's called, "Stop the Thyroid Madness"!!! Check it out, you'll find lots of invaluable information. I will be adding more soon.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

It is 5:40 am PST - link has been tested and is in proper
working order!!! SCRAP HAPPY this weekend y'all!!!

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THANK YOU!!! THOSE WERE THE DAISIES SCRAPATIT #1 FOR YOU WITH TWO OPTIONS!

Greetings from Copperopolis, California!!!

Short and sweet tonight (I know you don't believe me, but this time I mean it!) as I've had a rather long day between my doctor's appointment and taking care of my NEW baby!!!

Thank you EVER so much for ALL of the LOVELY comments about our precious little Zeke. If you could just see where he was sleeping a bit ago, I'm sure you'd be just like me ... awwww ... look at how precious he looks babe (I woke Robert up for him to take a gander at where Zeke was sleeping!!!) Earlier this evening, after Robert brought me home from the clinic up the hill, we sat down to watch a movie and Zeke stretched himself out between the two of us! I mentioned to Robert that despite that fact that we were both looking forward to NO children lurking about, that Zeke was brought into our lives with a DEFINITE purpose!!! He is sleeping in my lap, once again, as I type!

I have my follow-up with Stephanie this morning at 9:30 am. Dr. Jacobsen, who will be doing my colonoscopy, was very interesting to speak with and he said my TSH was borderline, so I think I have a REALLY good case to present to Stephanie. Thank you SO much for your well-wishes and I shall definitely share with y'all as I do realize that MANY women today have thyroid issues - some who are yet unaware of it.

I have created a "scrapatit" using the pieces to *Those Were The Daisies* that I gave you yesterday and added a couple of "glittered" flourishes, which I will give to you with the next installment! I created a layout of some of us (me not included as I was the photographer!) after leaving the Old Spaghetti Factory and heading on further downtown in San Jose, California to attend the Cirque Du Soleil. We had such a GRAND time and I'd go to another showing in a heart beat!

I am offering two different zip files tonight. You may take one or both as one has the word, "MEMORIES" in glitter at the bottom and the other is without for you to add your own titling. There is PLENTY of room for journaling! ENJOY and I shall see you tomorrow night! OH ... and I also included a "replacement" daisy as I gave y'all the original and not the color-corrected one. Sorry!

Hugs,
Linda

P.S. Password is: OldDays (this will change with a new theme)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE #1

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE #2

It is 2:20 am PST - links have been tested and are
in proper working order! I would SO love to see
what y'all do with *Those Were The Daisies*!!!

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A BELATED MOTHER'S DAY GIFT!!!

I surely hope to find that EVERYONE had a NICE Mother's Day!!! I originally started this post 24 hours or so ago and as you read a little further, you will find out why there was a "snag" in my posting time!!! Such is the life, eh??? LOL!

I spent a good portion of my Mother's Day on the phone with my mom, sister, daughters, one of my sons (Kaleb's daddy) and I sent out e-cards to our new mommy's celebrating their VERY first Mother's Day as well as to family and friends!!! Oh, but MOST of my time has been spent helping my Mother's Day present from Kaleb's daddy to adjust to his new home! YUP, we have a new kitty!!! (He is sleeping on my lap as I type!)

Do ya reckon it's kosher to "re-gift" a kitten??? ROFL! Just kidding - he's my baby!!! He and Robert bonded immediately and Robert has named him, Zeke. Of course, li'l Zeke is experiencing the customary separation anxiety from his mother and siblings - poor babe! Needless to say, I've not had much time for anything else but to watch after him while he is awake (he likes to be near one or the other of us and since Robert is gone to work all day, you know who gets to kitty-sit!), carrying him to his food and water and placing him in his litter box!!!

I LOVE my furbabies, but wasn't really looking forward to the family growing anymore as we just recently had a dog adopt us (don't have the heart to have animal control pick her up). We've named her Emma and believe her to be part border collie and possibly black lab. She is a sweetheart and very smart BUT, she has scared our cats away and we lost our Snickers aka "homegirl". I thought we had lost Boo-Boo as well (she is MY baby!), but Robert found her down in our barn five days later roosting atop a shelf. She is now being kept inside as we are surrounded by coyotes and I really don't wish to lose her too.

Zeke will remain an indoor cat - two is cool, just NO more please!!! I am posting a photo of him so you can see just how cute he is!!! Blond hair and blue eyes! Gee, aren't I sounding like a PROUD new mama!!! He, he ...

My follow-up appointment with my PA on Friday was canceled and rescheduled for this coming Wednesday. My first colonsocopy consultation is tomorrow afternoon - OH JOY! I will keep y'all posted as we review the findings.

I will share with you about my thyroid as the receptionist did mention that it was TOO low (my TSH level) and that Stephanie wishes to lower my dosage. Well, the fact of the matter is, I feel better than I have in years and my thyroid is now doing what it should be. My eyelids no longer droop, my hair is regaining some luster, it is thickening up, I have some pep in me and I've dropped a bit of weight as one should be able to!!! So what do you think I am going to do when I visit Stephanie on Wednesday??? I'm going to beg and plead that she PLEASE consider my treatment based on the "how I feel" and not on numbers that cannot possibly be correct for EVERY body.

I will ask Stephanie if she will keep me where I'm at and retest me in another 4-6 weeks. If I've dropped any lower, then I will agree to lower my dosage. If I've remained the same then I wish to stay with the higher dosage. Make sense? OH YEAH!!!

Now, if we can just pinpoint the cause of my "horrific, stops me dead in my tracks" stomach pains, I will shall be SO happy!!!

I hope you enjoy the little gift I have for you - *Those Were The Daisies*. I had fun playing with filters and a few overlays and have strayed away a bit from my norm. I enjoy experimenting, but I must admit, my MOJO has not been MOJOIN' since NSD!!! And this, too, shall pass!!!

SWEET DREAMS and have an AWESOME week ahead y'all!!! Thank you SO much for ALL of the LOVELY comments on *Summer Rocks*!!! I shall see if I can come up with something to add to it since y'all are ready for the HOT weather!!!

Hugs,
Linda

P.S. Password is: OldDays

Our SWEET little Zeke!!! He is watching me type this!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 12:30 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order! Have a FANTABULOUS week y'all!

*Blogger may have the hiccups and for those having
difficulty with the password, double check and make
sure that you are typing 'OldDays' as one word and that
the 'O' and the 'D' are capitalized. Passwords are case
sensitive. I shall try and make them easier from now on! :)
The time is 11:10 am PST

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IT'S FANTABULOUS FREEBIE FRIDAY Y'ALL!!! SPLASH!

HAPPY FRIDAY everyone!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mandy!!! (one of my sisters and she LOVES purple!)

I'm IN and OUT quickly as I need to get some sleep and prepare for my follow-up with my PA early this afternoon! I am excited to see the results of my blood work-up. If everything comes back in the "normal" range then that will SURELY start narrowing things down for me!!!

I've actually been doing pretty well the past week as I hardly eat. Not a GOOD thing, but it does keep me from the horrible bloating!!! The new thyroid medication (Armour Thyroid) is making a HUGE difference in many areas, the biggest being that I've actually had some energy and don't have a desire to lay down during the day. WOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!! I AM going to BEAT THIS!!!

I just spoke with a young lady, 37, who was just recently put on Armour and she has also noticed a wonderful improvement in her overall well-being. She has also seen the same PA as I am seeing and thinks she is GREAT, as do I! How COOL is that!!!

I finally finished leaving ALL MY LOVE in the NSD chat and challenge galleries early this afternoon! WOWSERS!!! There were OVER 60 layouts uploaded between mine and Carole's *S.O.S. for Summer Layouts* chat/challenge and for my *Curing The Summertime Blues* challenge!!! I am OVERWHELMED and CANNOT thank y'all enough for making this past NSD the BEST EVER at 3S!!! YEE-HAW!!! And MAN, do y'all have some INCREDIBLE talent!!! Now we ALL know that we'll have NO blues this summer, cuz we've CURED them!!! He, he ...

MANY of you SHOUTED OUT with HANDS HELD HIGH - we want the papers and embellishments for *SUMMER ROCKS*!!! Your FANTABULOUS FRIDAY FREEBIE is exactly that!!!

Thank you SO much for your LOVELY comments - y'all just know how to keep me creating, dont' you!!! You are SO inspiring!

ENJOY and I'll see you when you get out of the pool!!!

Hugs,
Linda

Password is: SUMMER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREEBIE

The time is 3:30 am PST - link has been tested and is in
proper working order! Now you just know that I'll have
to start another slideshow for your ROCKIN' summer
layouts, don't you??? LOL! May your weekend be FULL
of scrap!!! :)

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