*SUNRISE, SUNSET*, PART TWO AND HOW DO YOU DO???

He, he .... mornin' everyone! It is just a WEE bit past midnight and I'm making my post and going to bed like a GOOD girl!!! Y'all are SO sweet in looking after my health! Thank you SOOOO much for the LOVELY comments and I am THRILLED that y'all are liking *SUNRISE, SUNSET*!!! Kim surely knows how to pick the colours, doesn't she? YUMMY! Thank you again girlfriend and I am surely going to miss you whilst you are away on holiday!!!

A HUGE thank you to ALL of you wishing my LOVELY Robert, as Vicki calls him, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! He was like TOTALLY overwhelmed by the NUMEROUS blog comments and by ALL of the phone calls he received today!!! He is SO funny! He says to me, "I've had MORE calls this year than in the past. It must be that everyone KNOWS that I AM getting older now"!!! What a NUT! He cracks me up! Well, I shall say this for him, he SURELY makes the 50's look ABSOLUTELY fabulous!!! *wink*

I have some SPECIAL goodies to share with you from Snowsmoon's Design!!! ARGH!!! Aye mateys, you will LOVE the TREASURE she has awaiting you on her BLOG ! Seek the treasure (preview below with link beneath it) and you'll be scrapping your photos rather than swabbing the deck ... er, uhm, I mean mopping the kitchen floor!!! LOL! While there, make sure and take a trip over to her store at One Single Seed where she has an AWESOME blowout sale on ALL of her kits until MIDNIGHT tonight (NO FOOLING HERE!!!) for ONLY $1.00!!! What a FABULOUS way to build up your stash! If you've not seen Dawn's BUGS kit, OMGosh, you just HAVE to snag it while it is only a buck!!! Dawn has been working her bootsky off making NEW stuff that will be unveiled and available for purchase come April 1st! Check out her blog and read ALL about it!!! *BIG SMILE*

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FROM DAWN'S BLOG!

Oh, before I forget, I am going to post with each download a little reminder to wait a few minutes or come back later if you have difficulty downloading any of my goodies. Sometimes we just happen to be in downloading when MANY others are as well and we might get an error code. I've learned over time to just busy myself with something else and to come back at at time when I know the traffic won't be bumper-to-bumper and/or gridlocked!!! Hope y'all have have a FANTASTIC start to your week and I wish you a day FULL of SCRAP HAPPINESS!!!

XOXO,
Linda :)

P.S. *SUNRISE, SUNSET* will remain active on my blog throughout the coming weeknend and will then be packaged up and put into my store at One Single Seed! Yes, I am finally going to put some things up for sale as I have spent OODLES on CU goodies and I need to make an attempt to balance the scale!!! Y'all know HOW that goes, eh? LOL! I will still be bringing you LOTS of goodies right here on my blog so NO worries about that!!! I will put a store link on my blog when I have at least five kits uploaded! LOL! No sense in sending you over there to empty shelves!!! HORRORS! ROFL!

Remember, this Wednesday at NOON EST, the April DST Blog Train shall be departing and my preview and link will replace the old one at EXACTLY noontime on April 1st!!! I will have a link to the next blog included in my post, as well as a link to the blog train blog below my preview on the sidebar. OMGosh y'all, you won't believe many designers have contributed this time around!!! WOO, WOOOOOOOO!!! The name of this train is *SPRING BLOSSOMS*!!!

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*SUNRISE, SUNSET*, PART ONE HAS ARRIVED!!! WOO HOO!

Well, I am ONLY three hours past, "later tonight", eh? ROFL! Okay, okay, I'm BAD! Man, oh man, OH MAN, sometimes you just forget HOW much prep time goes into making previews, renaming files, making sure that you've credited EVERYONE, zipping files, checking and re-checking to make sure that you've included all items in the preview, uploading to file sharing site or FTP and then getting it all posted on your blog and everywhere else it needs to go!!! ROTFLMBO!!! Another WONDERFUL reason why it is SO important for us to make sure and thank those we download from, eh? I just happen to have this BUILT-IN "guilt" mechanism that will not allow me to leave a blog without my leaving a comment before or while downloading!!! *smile*

SO, without further ADO, I celebrate with you my return to SCRAPLAND and my VERY first creation for Kim B's MONTHLY color challenge, *SUNRISE, SUNSET*, Part One! I have divided the papers and embellishments up into two separate zips to keep them under 30 MB's each. I hope y'all enjoy it and you just KNOW that I would LOVE to see some layouts uploaded to the guestbook, right??? Uh, huh. You bet your SWEET BIPPY I would! Help me out here y'all, I am starving for some EYE CANDY!!! He, he ...

Today is my MOST favorite person on this earth's BIRTHDAY!!! Hmmmm .... and who might that be you ask? My DARLING, SWEET, LOVING and MOST incredibly WONDERFUL man, Robert!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!

Before I forget (and you KNOW I will!!!), *SUNRISE, SUNSET* will come to you in THREE parts on three different days and then followed by TWO coordinating alphas. I am hoping to have a download each day this week, however, I might skip Wednesday, depending on my madness over here (LOL!), to post my contribution to the DST April Blog Train!!! WOO HOO!!! YES, you read correctly! It is that time once again, SO prepare yourselves to be AMAZED as there are A LOT of AWESOME designers participating. I will leave the link on my sidebar and simply change the image so that you see the new goodies that I will have for y'all to download. I am SLOWLY catching up and hope to GET 'ER DONE by Tuesday!!!

Thank you ALL so VERY much for your continued support and encouragement!!! HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Much love,
Linda :)

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A QUICK PEEK AT WHAT IS TO COME LATER TONIGHT!

Hi y'all!!!

Have y'all had a FABULOUS weekend, OR what??? Come on now, you've just GOT to share with me what y'all have been up to! I'm feeling like I've been away on vacation and have SO much to catch up on!!!

I am SLOWLY making my way back. I won't bore you with how I've been struggling, however, I will tell you that my focusing is getting better with each passing day!!! YAHOOOOOOO!!! I don't like not being able to create, but I do know that ALL things are for a purpose and I think I've needed to slow down a bit and catch my breath!!! Yes, yes, YES, y'all have been telling me all along now haven't you? I shall have to quit being SO stubborn and listen up, eh? LOL!

I am going to share a bit of my creation for my FIRSTEVER participation in Kim B's MONTHLY color challenge over at DSO! I've not posted in the forum yet as I still need to make up my previews as I am going to give my scrapkit out in two or three parts AND I've even made TWO alphas to coordinate with this one, which I've named *Sunrise, Sunset*!!! The color palette this month is SO delicious and HOT and just spoke to me of early day and our GORGEOUS sunsets here in the foothills of Northern California!!! You know, those FABULOUS sunsets that fill the sky with yellow, orange, fuschia and lavender!!! I LOVE them and Robert and I will sit out on our deck and relish in the beauty of our surroundings on warm evenings!

Please know that ALL who are in the midst of horrific blizzards and flooding have been in my thoughts and prayers. The weather SURELY has been crazy this season and we've gone from COLD to WARM and right back to COLD here today! To those in the flood areas and the mid-west where blizzards have hit, PLEASE be safe!!! TO those who have had to evacuate, I wish you a safe return to your homes just as quickly as is safely possible. I hope as I am writing this that everyone has already been able to return - I've not seen any updates today.

Here is my SNEAK-PEEK!

*SUNRISE, SUNSET* - DSO March Color Challenge with Kim B

Below is a preview of Snowsmoon's Design's preview of her AWESOME alpha now available on her blog! Is that not just TOO sweet? Link to Dawn's blog is located beneath the preview!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALPHA FROM DAWN'S BLOG!

I'm off for a dinner break (yeah, for some reason my stomach is growling!) Be back later with Part One ... XOXO

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WAITING FOR THE FOG TO LIFT AND PART TWO OF KIM B"S MARCH COLOR CHALLENGE BY SNOWSMOON'S DESIGN!

ROFL! Well, it is nearly 80 degrees with the sun BEAUTIFULLY shining today, however, I am patiently awaiting the FOG to clear so that I can see clearly - BRAIN FOG that is!!!

Thank you for being SO patient and I will have those DSO March Color Challenge goodies for you ASAP - hopefully, by tomorrow sometime! I shall keep you posted for sure!!! I am having WITHDRAWALS from not being able to post goodies for you!!! LOL! Is that BAD, or what??? He, he ...

Meanwhile, please hop on over to my BFF's blog (Snowsmoon's Design) and grab Part Two of her DARLING creations which are shown in the preview below! Please leave her some love and a thank you for her sharing her time and talent with ALL of us! MWAH!

Wishing you ALL a FUN and SCRAP HAPPY weekend and, as ALWAYS, thank you for your CONTINUED support and KIND comments that REALLY help keep me inspired to create!!!

BIG, BIG HUGS,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FROM DAWN'S BLOG!

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SOME FREEBIES AND WHAT I AM UP TO TODAY!!!

Hi y'all!!!

Thank you for bearing with me as I SLOWLY make my way back into the HUSTLE 'n BUSTLE here in SCRAPLAND!

I'm stopping in to share a few freebies that are up on my my VIRTUAL daughter, Sarah's blog and my BFF, Dawn's blog!!!

What am I doing today??? Well, after sitting here for three days TOTALLY uninspired and trying to get my brain fog to clear up after my hospital stay, by way of Dawn's suggestion a few days ago, I am, for the VERY first time, participating in the INFAMOUS and HIGHLY ACCLAIMED monthly COLOR CHALLENGE hosted by Kim herself over at DSO!!! One look at her chosen color palette for the month and I was INSPIRED!!! Oh Kim, if you ONLY knew just how QUICKLY my brain fog began to clear girlfriend!!! ROFL! Well, not entirely, but enough to set me on FIRE (the colors will do that to you!) and get me back into Photoshop and doing what I SO love to do - making GOODIES for y'all!!! *BIG SMILE*

One of the INCREDIBLE things about participating in this particular challenge is that I get to share my creations with y'all RIGHT HERE on my blog! SO, I shall be pointing you in the direction of Sarah and Dawn's blogs and then I should be back later tonight or tomorrow morning with my contribution in the form of a mini-kit to share with y'all. I will also share with you my next project - WOO HOO!!! The train is moving once again! LOL!

Sarah aka Designs by Sassy has been giving a new freebie out a couple of times a week as she is coming down the final stretch before her wedding on April 11th! Hop on over and check them out - they are CU-friendly and a FABULOUS addition to your already growing stashes! *wink* While you are there, leave her some loving for her efforts whilst not only preparing for her wedding, but also for caring for her SWEET Joshua who is in need of breathing treatments for 3 months. Little lamby, he is SO lovely!

Dawn has already posted the first part of her contribution to Kim B's COLOR CHALLENGE at DSO! Here is her preview with a link right beneath it to take you directly to her post! ENJOY and make sure to check out all of the OTHER goodies in the DSO forum and gallery! AWESOME job girlfriend - I am LOVING the birdie with the FLOURISHED tail feathers!!! TOO SWEET!

You REALLY know how to ROCK it Kim!!! MWAH!

See you all later ....

XOXO,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO BE TRANSPORTED TO DAWN'S BLOG TO DOWNLOAD!

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OVERDUE LO SHARES AND A BEAUTY OF A CELTIC QP BY MONNA LAINSON!

Hi y'all!!!

Firstly, please let me say that I am OVERWHELMED with the SWEET, KIND, GENTLE and LOVING comments left for me yesterday and today!!! Can I say WOW??? Y'all CONSTANTLY amaze me with your heartfelt shares of your own experiences and those close to you. I was just expressing to Robert HOW much I love to get feedback from y'all in times of my perplexity!!! SO many of you came to my aide when I was struggling with what seemed like ENDLESS computer woes and now I am getting some INCREDIBLE feedback on my recent health issue! THANK YOU! Y'all help keep my heart healthy ya know!

MICHELE - I shall definitely keep what you've shared in mind and I will tell you that it has already been in the back of mind for some time, especially after the recent incident with Robert's oldest son who was in REALLY bad shape by the time he made it to the hospital for gallbladder surgery after he had been HORRIBLY misdiagnosed with ulcers. His experience and what you have shared will DEFINITELY keep me on alert! *wink*

CARYN - the sprained sternum is QUITE interesting as that is where the pain was. I would touch my sternum and it felt bruised, although that disappeared as well! I did not do anything to my knowledge to sprain it, but then one never knows, eh? LOL! I'm glad YOU are okay as I can only imagine dealing with that AND the little one! BTW - YOU are just a BABY! Only a year older than my oldest daughter! He, he ... AND YES, I am a believer in ALL things for a purpose! Love back atcha girlie!

CAROLYN - ROTFLBO!!! You are TOO funny girl! LOL! Now you'll REALLY laugh when you find out that my computer is literally a HOP away from my bed!!! NO skip, NO jump, just a HOP, literally!!! ROFL!

PWD - you are for all practical purposes, RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!! I do have a hiatal hernia and reflux (not in the way MOST people think of it) and I do believe my culprit was my overdosing on coffee this winter. I am not normally much of a coffee drinker, however, it is already prepared by my sweetie first thing in the morning and SO easy on COLD days that kept me in my room with the heater on. I have gone back to drinking herbal tea since my little adventure!

The doctor who gave me all of my results before leaving the hospital explained something to me that I'd not ever heard before. Caffeine and chocolate (no problem with that one as I RARELY ever eat any) relax the sphinter at the bottom of the esophagus allowing a lot more acid to come up and into the esophagus from the stomach. VERY interesting to know and now gives me a GOOD visual of what I shall cause for myself if I overindulge in either of them! NO MORE! I give, I give ... *smile*

I don't take any other meds other than my Armour Thyroid and a low-dose aspirin which has now been upped to a regular aspirin per day. I don't drink carbonated beverages either and haven't in nearly 20 years. On occasion and on a HOT day, I will take a sip or two from Robert's or one of my son's glasses every once-in-a-while which amounts to maybe two or three times a year! The only other thing that I enjoy is a glass or two of red wine in the evening and I have eliminated that as well for the same reason. Rather than aiding my digestion, it is having the opposite effect!!! It could ONLY happen to me! Just kidding, but I am learning what my body will handle and what it will not, which is, at the present time, leaving me with very few options! LOL! I now empathize with my mother who just a few years ago asked, "what CAN I eat"! As you can see, I have inherited the weakness in my digestive tract, but look forward to overcoming the troubles ASAP!

You just HAVE to be in the medical profession darlin'!

SARAH - He, he ... your visual makes mine look tame girlfriend!!! LOL! I shall never look at NOODLES the same EVER again!!! ROFL! I believe my colonoscopy will be where they sedate you to the point of not caring about much of anything!!! HELP! WOW! So young girlie to have had one, let alone two. Is there family history?

KAREN - You have known me for SOOO long now haven't you??? Thank you for the reminder girlfriend and may I say that your profile pic makes me smile BIG every time I see it because I KNOW your personality!!! You are such a HOOT girl!

Okay, back to the GOOD stuff!!! I know it is PAST St. Patrick's Day, however, I had a couple of VERY dear friends create some layouts for me using *Shimmerin' Shamrocks* and I've just got to share them!

Darlene, a good friend and CT, has created a two-page layout from a St. Patrick's Day parade in Los Angeles, California back in 2003 in which the actress, Rene Russo, was Grand Marshal and is shown sitting between Darlene and Darlene's husband, Mick! Rememeber the gentleman that made PINK look SO good with my *INTERLUDES* collab with Snowsmoon's Design??? Uh, huh! One and the same! What a LOVELY and FESTIVE set of layouts Darlene! TY!

Monna Lainson of Monna Lainson Designs and a VERY, VERY dear friend has not ONLY created a layout of her "Celtic Beauty" below, but has offered it on her blog as a "scrapatit" aka QP for y'all and I was not here to link to it and wish to do so now. Isn't her daughter GORGEOUS??? Oh my, you just HAVE to LOVE that red hair!!! Thank you sweetheart, you ROCK!

CLICK HERE TO BE TRANSPORTED TO MONNA'S BLOG TO DOWNLOAD!

Please leave her some SCRAPLAND lovin' and tell her I said HELLO Monna Mia!

XOXO,
Linda

P.S. I shall be back soon with some NEW goodies for you!

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BLOG INTERRUPTED: AN ACCOUNT OF MY UNSCHEDULED MINI-VACATION AND AN *INTERLUDE* FLAW MAKEOVER!!!

Hi y'all!!!

Sharon, Nancy, Judy and Vicki - y'all know me TOO well and I appreciate your coming to check up on me! MWAH!

Okay, firstly, I BOOFED again! OMGosh and how I did not catch this myself while making the "scrapatit" for *INTERLUDES* I just do NOT know! I guess it tells me that I was not myself and you will come to understand that in just a moment, but first, I must RIGHT my WRONG!

I will be including for you, at the end of this post, a link to a corrected journal matte and one for the "scrapatit" which ALSO contains the "flawed" journal matte. A simple explanation - I did not completely cover the template and there is some "blue" showing on the far righthand side. Thank you girlfriend (Snowsmoon's Design) for bringing it to my attention last night! MWAH!

I am just feeling so awful as there are SO many that have been downloaded and I know that MOST of you are like me and you grab things and add them to your stash for future use. One day down the road, you'll find that RIGHT photo from that SPECIAL event, go to search for the "scrapatit" and eventually catch that "flaw" and be SO upset to have spent SO much time on your project only to find that it is unacceptable!!! Okay, yes, I am being a bit dramatic, but HEY, y'all know I'm right, eh?

Okay, secondly, the reason I've been MIA is that I took an unscheduled "mini" vacation! YUP! I went ADIOS! Where? How? Sonora, the Hotel Sonora Regional via limo!!! ROTFLMBO!!! Okay, a vivid imagination on my end, but hey, a girl can dream, CAN'T she??? Here's the REAL DEAL!

Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day - I started my computer day by putting my *Shimmerin' Shamrocks* scrapkit on sale for ONLY $1.00 over at One Single Seed! I posted on Facebook, wished all of you who are of Irish heritage a VERY "Happy St. Patrick's Day". Even those that are not pretend to be, eh? Who wants to get pinched, right??? GOT to wear the GREEN!!! ROFL! Okay, I know, MOST of us would REALLY rather spend it!!! *wink*

After posting on Facebook, I went to Blogger and started my post for y'all. I had IM'd my DEAR, DEAR friend, Monna Lainson to see if she was going to post the BEAUTIFUL "scrapatit" aka QP that she had made from her layout using *Shimmerin' Shamrocks*. Monna created a MOST lovely layout of her VERY own "Celtic Beauty", Shauna aka her GORGEOUS daughter! (I will share this with y'all in one of my next few posts!) Well, somewhere in between pushing the send button on Yahoo Messenger and my abrupt departure, I had an extensive conversation with a nurse on our local nurse's advice line. Why might I have been asking for advice? Hmmm .... well, the stubborn lass that I am at times had not been herself from the past weekend on.

While on a walk with Robert Sunday morning, prior to our travel to visit our grandson, Dillon, I stopped THREE times coming up the hill and I've not done that before. Robert was concerned and thinking it was surely my heart again. I told him that it felt like dinner from the night before was lodged in my esophagus. I DO have a hiatal hernia, so that is what I was thinking and that it was causing me to be winded. From this point on, I felt as though I'd been run over by the proverbial MACK truck. We spent the entire day away visiting Dillon and his mommy and daddy and when we returned home, we were both in bed by 9:00 pm. I slept until 9:30 am the next morning and awoke with discomfort in my chest. I was not really concerned about it until the following day, which brings us to Tuesday, when the pain became a little more intense after I had a piece of leftover chicken at about 2:15 pm, which was the first thing I had eaten all day due to the way I had been feeling. It was "quick and easy"!

Long story short, according to my symptoms and my prior history (angioplasty and stent implant four years ago), the nurse's guidelines told her to have me call 9-1-1! EEEKS! Uhm .... can I just call one of my boys and have them drive me to the clinic? It is up to you, however I suggest you call 9-1-1, that way if it is your heart and something happens in transport, you will have help on the way to the hospital, replied the nurse. I could hear the change in my voice as I, while waiving the invisible white flag and surrendering, told her, "okay, I will call 9-1-1".

I am really a VERY laid back person, at peace and not SO easily moved (unless I smell something burning!), however, after hanging up with the nurse, I had a million thoughts going through my head, one of which, I did not wish to be alone when the paramedics arrived! LOL! I called my oldest son who, in the midst of rings, I realized was at work so I hung up and drew a BIG BLANK as to the numbers of two of my other boys!!! I then called Robert, explained to him that I had just called 9-1-1 and asked if he would call one of the boys to come to the house to be with me. My next and final phone call before the crew arrived with my son, Luke, right behind them, was my BFF, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Design! Thank you girlfriend for your MANY phone calls to both Robert and I checking in on me and for informing others here in SCRAPLAND! BIG, BIG HUGS!

Now mind you, we live in a small community so between my son and I, we knew the majority of the team coming to my rescue!!! One of them was the son of one of our neighbors who just happened to be one of the responders to my emergency from the clinic four years ago! I felt VERY comfortable and laughed and joked with them all the way to the ambulance! What else is a girl to do??? ROFL! I won't mention the poor firefighter who tried THREE times to get an IV going in one of my arms!!! You just KNOW that his colleagues were teasing him BIG time! LOL! The paramedic was feeling NO pressure as he made the fourth attempt once I was settled inside of the ambulance! VOILA! Oh, and with it being St. Patrick's Day and all, my limo .... er, uhm ... I mean my ambulance driver was speaking with an Irish accent the entire trip which was about a half an hour!!! Need I tell you that I was in GREAT company and having a good time as well as waving at my twins every time we came to a stop as they were following behind us!

I'll spare you ALL of the details for this shall surely become a novel rather quickly! I was evaluated in ER. My blood pressure was normal and ran between 103-113 over 70-72 with a non-eventful EKG. Oxygen was excellent and I was running a very low-grade fever. Because of my prior history, the doctor on duty did not wish to take any chances with me, so I was admitted and taken to a "room with a view"! WOW! Its was already dark and the view was GORGEOUS so I asked the nurse to leave the draperies open. I mean, after all, with NO computer I just had to be able to enjoy a BIG screen panorama!!! LOL! I bedded down early as I'd sent Robert home to spare him the discomfort of hospital seating in the ER! LOL! He was not able to call me as it was past visiting hours by the time I was taken to my room, so I called him .... two or three times! Can you say, "separation anxiety"??? He, he ... We have VERY seldom ever been apart for a night so it felt just a wee bit strange not having the other present! He was SO cute and funny. I was sitting on the sofa watching television, looked over and did not see the back of your head! It just isn't the same without you here, he says to me! I chuckled and said, "now that's too funny honey"! I'm sure y'all know what he means by the back of my head, eh? YAH! Me on the computer! LOL!

I had several blood draws taken periodically to check my enzymes for whether or not I may have had a heart attack. I forgot to mention earlier that the paramedic gave me a spray of nitro and four baby aspirins and almost immediately the chest pain subsided. I was given another spray in transport to the hospital to bring my pain level down to a one or zero! By the time I was in the ER, I was only feeling a VERY mild discomfort. By this time I am hoping and praying that it is NOT my heart! The stuff worked!

I was given a stress test via treadmill Wednesday morning. I was SO blessed to have my cardiologist present as he had my file from four years ago and my results this time were dramatically different in that I was not experiencing severe chest pain and I was NOT "begging" for mercy and he did not see anything irregular!!! I passed! WOO HOO! The only flack I got was when I mentioned that I stopped taking all of my prescribed meds nearly two years ago! How is your blood pressure the doctor asks? GREAT! The last one taken was 98/61 and my cholesterol levels were AWESOME last draw! What was your LDL? 64, I answered with gusto! That's GREAT! Uh, huh, so why do I need to be taking medications for problems that I DO NOT have? He actually didn't blink at those two, but was a little concerned about by stopping the Plavix. I explained to him that I stayed on it for the two years recommended because of the stent but that I was tired of bleeding so easily and I was on a program that helped thin the blood and didn't need both. He told me that it was my decision and that I could just take fish oil to help keep things flowing smoothly! HA, HA!!! WOW! He has come a long way in four years! WOO HOO! Yeah! I am taking fish oil now since I am no longer on the other program. My body responds SO much better to natural remedies. Please note that I DO NOT advocate this for anyone, however, no one knows our body better than we do. I've learned what works and what doesn't for mine.

This is just going to be longer than I had hoped but I am sharing in hopes that it may help some one else down the line. Anyhoo, my cardiologist reported to me that he was 95% sure that my chest pain had nothing to do with my heart as it had been persistent pain for over 24 hours, nothing showed up irregular from my stress test and my enzymes were fine. PHEW! YAY! Now what?

Back to my room, another blood draw and then I was taken down for an abdominal ultrasound to check my gallbladder. I had one done less that two years ago and was found to be with stones, but my gallbladder was normal. The sweet little gal doing my ultrasound explained to me that she would be checking to make sure that the stones she discovered were "free floating" and not stuck somewhere! VERY cool! I got to see those little rocks swimming around! The wall of my gallbladder was normal - NO inflammation. Two down, now where do we go??? LOL!

I also had my thyroid levels tested since I am on Armour Thyroid. Interestingly enough, my TSH was low, which has me baffled as my last test showed my Free T-4 being VERY low and I am due for a follow-up with my primary doctor to see where I am standing since having my dosage increased this past month. I am curious to see what my doctor has to say. He was thinking from the looks of things that my hypothyroidism may be secondary to a problem in my pituitary gland! WHOA! I am SO loving this doctor as I studied this out a decade ago and have NEVER had a doctor so much as whisper the possibility of a problem with my pituitary gland. Makes sense to me after being treated for hypothyroidism for the last 12 years and never being without symptoms - UGH!

When the doctor from the pulmonary-cardiac unit where I was staying came in to see me with ALL of the results prior to my release, she said that my trouble could possibly be related to my stomach or esaphagus. I am to follow up with my primary doctor and if I continue to have the same trouble, she recommended an upper endoscopy/EGD. Oh JOY! WOO HOO! Let's make an appointment for that RIGHT NOW!!! *cough, cough* ROFLTMBO! I'll make an appointment for the EGD right after my colonoscopy! HELP! LOL! Between the two, they will PROBE-ably do me in!!! HA, HA, HA, HA, HAAAAAAA!!! EEEEEEKS!

All kidding aside, I am VERY thankful for the EXCELLENT care I was given from the time I made the phone call to the nurse's advice line until the moment I was released from the hospital and that they all looked to the welfare of my heart before anything else! I will keep y'all updated as to WHAT is found to be the REAL cause for that chest pain. I have but ONE question when I go to see my primary physician - WHY did the nitro relieve my chest pain??? A little something for "me" to research as well! *big smile* Although my SWEET Robert was a little disappointed that they were not able to give us any answers as to "why", I do have faith that the root of my physical woes shall soon be established!

I've been a VERY good girl and actually did not turn my computer on at all until sometime Saturday! I arrived home Wednesday night and spent three days getting a jumpstart on some spring cleaning - WOO HOO! I paced myself and rested often and put myself to bed long before midnight! Tonight is my first night up past midnight, but ONLY because I received a phone call from my son, Luke asking me to type a couple of papers for his girlfriend as her printer ran out of ink in the midst of printing. Unfortunately, she did not have means by which to save it onto portable media so I had to type it all out! Let's just say that several hours later Luke and I had learned a few new things together!!! I was using a new program and had never navigated my way around it before! LOL! We were trying to position a "drop cap" on the page just as Tessa had done and it wasn't happening! *sigh* It was WONDERFUL quality time with my son and I was MOST happy to be of help!

Below, you will find a separate link for the CORRECTED journal matte for those of you who do not wish the "scrapatit" and then one link for the *Interlude* "scrapatit"! I apolgize for the inconvenience. Regardless of the fact that these items are "freebies", I still wish to ensure that those of you that visit and download are receiving TOP quality product, so please DO NOT hesitate to e-mail me if you find a "flaw"! Thank you! Ahhhh, that reminds me - to contact me personally, please use the following e-mail address: bonscrapatitdesigns (at) gmail (dot) com. I recently removed the image with my e-mail address from my sidebar as now that I am on Facebook, I am flooded with e-mails moreso than ever and I know that I have missed several e-mails from a few of you, so I will mention right now that if you have mailed me and not received an answer, please resend to the new e-mail addy! I will update my sidebar as well just as soon as possible.

I hope to see y'all back tomorrow night with some more goodies! Wishing you ALL a MOST fabulous week ahead!

Much love,
Linda :)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD *CORRECTED* JOURNAL MATTE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD *CORRECTED* SCRAPATIT

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ANOTHER INTERLUDE Y'ALL! LOL! A LAYOUT SHARE AND SOME EXCITING NEWS!!!

Okay, so I have had entirely TOO much FUN working with *INTERLUDES*!!! Actually, today is the first time that I have an opportunity to work with it on a personal level! I usually make a "scrapatit" or two to get a feel for how things are working. I take my time and will change things around endlessly at times, but I work my canvas until I feel a sense of calm and am comfortable with the way things are looking! SPEED-SCRAP??? Not THIS girl!!! And if I did, I guarantee you I'd pull that thing apart and fix it! ROFL! Isn't it AMAZING how well we get to know ourselves? I SO admire those of you that can put a layout together in your head and then PRESTO, "speed scrap"!!! LOL!

I had started to scrap with one of my wedding photos from back in the 70's before thinking of my daughter Joan's wedding photo of her and her hubby kissing like the days of "Gone With The Wind"!!! BINGO and VOILA - I LOVE it!!! OOOOH Rhett! *sigh* I hope that you will find that PERFECT photo to use with this, my first scrapatit using my collaboration with Snowsmoon's Design, *INTERLUDES*!!! And that is not the ONLY addition to this classic creation, Dawn has for us all some AWESOME alphas and tomorrow she will have even MORE goodies!!! WOO HOO! Thank you girlfriend! This has just been WAY too much FUN!!!

Sorry to be SO short tonight, however, we did not go to Dillon's birthday party today but will be leaving early in the morning for some special family time with he, his brother and his parents, which just happens to be his actual birthday and we shall CELEBRATE with him then! I, of course, shall be taking LOTS of photos!!!

BETH W - you are EXACTLY right as to why we missed last year!!! In my need for reading glasses to read the fine print, I had looked at the invitation without them and read the "11" as a 1!!! The second "1" just simply melded right into the other! BETH, please e-mail me at bonscrapatitdesigns (at) gmail (dot com) for your EXTRA goody!!! Now THAT is a FABULOUS memory darlin' and CONGRATS!!! Let's here it for Beth!!! WOO HOO!!!

KAREN H - Awwww girlfriend, you remembered too!!! Shoot me an e-mail and I shall send you a goody too! MWAH!

Thank you to ALL of you that left SWEET birthday wishes for Dillon! I shall pass them all on to him tomorrow! XOXO

Hope y'all are having a SCRAP-HAPPY weekend and I'll, hopefully, see you back here in SCRAPLAND tomorrow night or Monday! And the EXCITING news that I just HAVE to share with y'all is that my oldest daughter, April, called me earlier in the evening to share the news of her being proposed to today!!! WOO HOO! Y'all will just have to believe me when I say that I could not be happier for my baby girl as she and Ethan are a FABULOUS team! And yes, I cried!!! OMGosh .... ANOTHER wedding! I'll let y'all know just as soon as they announce a date! He, he ...

Love and hugs,
Linda :)

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD ALPHAS FROM DAWN'S BLOG
While you are there, read all about Dawn's latest adventures with her DARLING grandsons! She has had some WONDERFUL one-on-one time with each of them!

I used one the of the patterned circles from the "date wheel" beneath the photo!

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*NEWSPRINT EPOXY ALPHA*, PART TWO IS HERE AND IT'S PAR-TAY TIME!!!

OMGosh y'all, I am SOOOOO late for bed for about the third morning in a row!!! I have just been SOOOOO slow and actually stayed OFF of the computer for the BIGGEST part of the day yesterday (that gives you a clue as to HOW late is really is ... he, he ...).

I shall be QUICK and then I shall try my hardest to catch up with y'all during the next week! I would like to thank you ALL so very much for your MOST generous comments - I am DEEPLY touched and am SO happy that y'all are REALLY enjoying the FIRST collaboration between Snowsmoon's Design and Bon Scrapatit Designs!!! I know that Dawn GREATLY appreciates all the loving as well as I do! THANK YOU!

I am leaving you with PART TWO of my *Newsprint Epoxy Alpha*, which coordinates with *INTERLUDES*! I know that Dawn has an alpha for y'all as well and I don't think she has posted yet as she has had the privilege of having her grandson, Baby Javi, stay over by himself!!! Needless to say, I don't think Grandma Dawn has had ANY time to do much of anything other than babysit! How SPECIAL is that? I am missing you GIRLFRIEND! Stop on over and leave her some LOVE. I just KNOW that she is missing us ALL and if you've not downloaded her BEAUTIFUL scraptits/quickpages and WORD ART, what are you waiting for??? They ROCK!

Robert and I will be leaving early this afternoon for a two-hour drive to CELEBRATE our grandson, Dillon's SECOND birthday!!! Any of you happen to remember what happened (or didn't) last year on his FIRST birthday??? First one to post a comment on my blog (not 4-shared please) recalling what happened will get an EXTRA goody to coordinate with *INTERLUDES*!!! WOO HOO! Come on, put your thinking caps on y'all!!! A correct and "timely" answer will be rewarded! *wink*

I am posting a photo of Dillon below! He is such a sweetheart and is QUITE the entertainer! This photo was taken last September at his cousin, Lohgan's FIRST birthday party! They only live about three blocks from each other!!! Isn't that SO cool?

YES, I shall be snapping photos of ALL of the little ones gathered together to wish their cousin a HAPPY "2nd" BIRTHDAY!!!

If I don't see y'all much later tonight, I shall see you on Sunday!!!

Have a GOOD one and KEEP ON SCRAPPIN'!

Love and hugs,
Linda :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DILLON!!! PAPA AND LINDA LOVE YOU SO MUCH SWEETHEART!

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POST #2 , LAYOUT SHARES AND PART ONE OF *NEWSPRINT EPOXY ALPHA!*

Greeting my darlin's!!!

Since I've moved my feed on over to Google/Feeburner, my feed is being delivered at a different time, SO to keep me from getting confused and y'all as well, I am numbering my posts when there is more than one between feeding times so that you know to expect more to read and download than the first entry!!! LOL! For example, Part Three of *INTERLUDES* was just delivered by Google/Feedburner this evening at 5:44 pm PST (in my inbox anyhoo), so that means that those of you who rely on my feed in your inbox will not be seeing the "date wheel" replacement or Part One of the *Newsprint Epoxy Alpha* come through for about another 18 hours!

I hope that I've just made sense as my eyes are rebelling as I try to get this final post in before closing them! *smile*

I have a VERY special layout that I'd like to share with y'all tonight! This layout was created by a WONDERFUL layout artist who is going to be doing some CT work for my DEAR friend, Monna Lainson, my BFF, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Design and myself. Darlene is a LONG-TIME digi-scrapping sister and friend for well over three years now, if not closer to four. Darlene is just as SWEET as can be and when she really gets inspired by a scrapkit, LOOK OUT! Darlene love, I am MOST honored to have you working with my designs and I know the other gals are as well!

Darlene and her husband of nearly 31 years now, Mick, are members of the Goldwing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) and every September they travel up north to my neck of the woods for an event up the hill from us in Angels Camp, California, which is where my son Mark, his fiance' and my grandson, Kaleb live. Anyhoo, Darlene and I have missed meeting each other for two years straight now and we are both determined, God willing, to finally meet this coming September! If I'm a good girl, Darlene is going to have me set up on one of their beloved Honda's for a photo! I'd better start practicing so I can at least halfway look like I know what I am doing!!! I learned to ride a little Honda 175 something or other WAY back in the mid-70's and right after I was married. I felt SO proud of myself for being able to master the ability to change gears! Those WERE the days! He, he ...

I just LOVE Darlene's LOVELY clustering, the way she has the clock hanging from the stitching and her FABULOUS use of flowers and "pink" ones to boot and showing how a layout can still look MASCULINE!!! Well, I suppose Mick had a little something to with that as well, eh? *BIG GRIN* You ROCKED it Darlene and I SO love the way your layout focuses on ONE photo! Thank you girlfriend! MWAH!

Before I forget, Dawn will NOT be posting her alpha tonight after all, but you've just GOT TO hop on over there and download the GORGEOUS scrapatits/QP's she has magically created along with a LOVELY piece of word art. Some MORE lovely goodies to add to your *INTERLUDES* collection! Below is an AWESOME layout she has put together showing yet even MORE versatility to our collaboration!!! Okay, so I am partial to RED, BLACK, GRAY and WHITE!

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD SCRAPATITS AND WORD ART FROM DAWN'S BLOG AND PLEASE LEAVE HER SOME SPECIAL SCRAPLAND
LOVIN'!

Tonight, I have for you Part One of my *Newsprint Epoxy Alpha*, which is what I used to create my customized "date wheel" in my last post! I hope you enjoy it just as much I did creating it! I have really come to LOVE epoxy alphas and seeing as there have been SO many paper newsprint alphas out and about SCRAPLAND lately, I wanted to do something a little different! *wink* ENJOY y'all and I'll see you back tomorrow with Part Two of this alpha (upper-case and extras) and perhaps a few more goodies too! I just LOVE leaving y'all with SCRAPTASTIC stuff to scrap your memories with! Night all ....

BIG, BIG HUGS,
Linda :)

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*INTERLUDES* DATE WHEEL REPLACEMENT HAS ARRIVED!!!

Okay y'all, here is the replacement for my BIG, BIG BOOF! ROFL! I am SO sorry and as hard as I try to inspect everything before zipping, I do miss every now and then! So glad I am human! LOL!

Included in this download are SEVEN (7) individual PNG files for you to put this baby together with as YOU wish! WOO HOO!!!

I have also given you a sample image in the zip file as well as my posting it here so that you can see how I've customized to meet my project needs. You will also find some basic instructions as to how to put the wheel together for those that might need them.

HAVE FUN and SCRAP HAPPY!!! I would SURELY love to see what y'all do with this scrapkit!!!

I will be back later tonight with the first half of my alpha that coordinates with *INTERLUDES* as will my collab partner and BFF, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Design!!! Uhm .... I have given you a SNEAK-PEEK in the preview below!!! He, he ...

XOXO,
Linda :)

For my own project, I have eliminated the "years" text and replaced with my birth year using my coordinating *Newsprint Epoxy Alpha* and embellished it with the glittered foliage! The only text that is not in a separate file is "months".

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I MISSED A VERY IMPORTANT DATE!!! EEEEEKS!

Hi y'all!!!

It has been brought to my attention that the "date wheel" included in Part Three of *INTERLUDES* is missing the month of MAY! EEEEKS! I am SOOOOO sorry that I did not catch that when working with the template! MY BAD!

AND .... while I was researching the missing month and giving it a fix, I realized that after one of you posted a comment about the MIA month of May and wishing more detailed instructions on how to use it, that this "date wheel" was really not very functional, if at all!!! SOOOOO, I am completely reconstructing the "date wheel" and EACH piece, with the exception of the "months" text, shall be included in a separate PNG file so that you can ROTATE the day and year text circles to your liking.

I SO apologize for the inconvenience and I shall be back later with the updated zip file for you to download! Just toss the other one as it is really of NO use! :(

Hugs,
Linda xoxo

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ONE LAST INTERLUDE!!!

Hi y'all!!!

Today, Dawn and I both have for you one LAST part to our *INTERLUDES* collaboration!!! Click Dawn's preview image to download her LOVELY papers from her blog and my preview image to download the the final set of embellishments!!! Are y'all scrappin' yet, or what??? WOO HOO! You GO girls ... and guys if any are listening! *wink*

I've found that the links I THOUGHT I had copied and pasted from THE CANDY JAR to the download links here on my blog were NOT there!!! Thank you Sharon for the "head's up" about REDJU! For anyone transported to her blog, she ROCKS in the CU world! He, he ... ANYHOO, both THE CANDY JAR links have been fixed for both Part One and Part Two of *INTERLUDES*!

*INTERLUDES*, Part Three has two links, one to 4-shared and one to the THE CANDY JAR!!! Thank you for leaving Dawn and I such WONDERFUL comments!!! We read ALL of them and y'all TRULY keep us inspired to keep on creating!!! * HUGE GRIN*

We'll see y'all tomorrow with our coordinating alphas! Until then ....

HAPPY SCRAPPING!

XOXO,
Linda :)

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD *INTERLUDES* PAPERS FROM DAWN'S BLOG

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*INTERLUDES*, PART TWO!

MAN y'all!!! (ACRONYM for MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT!)

I'm making a REEEEEAL quick stop in to deliver today's goody, *INTERLUDES*, Part Two of my FIRSTEVER collaboration with my BFF and designer colleague, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Designs! Hop on over to Dawn's blog to collect today's PAPERS (her preview image is clickable and leave her some big SCRAPLAND lovin'!) and right on down to the bottom of my post for the coordinating embellishments!!! While you are there, click on her store link to see ALL of her kits that are ONLY $2.00 this week during ONE SINGLE SEED'S grand opening GALA!

I would sure LOVE to see some MASTERPIECES from y'all using *INTERLUDES*! SURPRISE ME, K? He, he ...

Thanks to all who have shared so far, you keep me SMILING BIG!!!

I shall be back tomorrow with Part Three, as will Dawn on her blog! We will each have a matching alpha for you and Dawn has some SWEET surprises so y'all come back now, HEAR!!! MWAH!

HAPPY, HAPPY!!!

XOXO,
Linda :)

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD *INTERLUDES* PAPERS FROM DAWN'S BLOG

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*INTERLUDES*, A COLLAB BY SNOWSMOON'S DESIGNS AND MYSELF HAS ARRIVED!!!

Greetings all!!!

How goes it in SCRAPLAND tonight? This morning? AFTERNOON anyone? LOL! I must say that I feel a bit strange at times when beginning my posts because I am chatting with LOVELY ladies (and gentlemen in hiding ... he, he ...) from ALL over the globe and ALL different times of the day! I suppose I could say, GOOD "MAN" Y'ALL!!! ROFL! Good Morning, Afternoon and Night! He, he ... MAN y'all!!!

Thank you for ALL of your LOVELY comments even during my MIA status! Y'all make THIS girl feel SO loved and I am REALLY jazzed about some of you sharing about your genealogy research as well. I am SOOOO stoked! Not only that, but we are getting more of our children on Facebook, which means we get to see our grandchildren A LOT more!!! WOO HOO! Wait until they all get my invites from GENI!!! That place is DA BOMB I tell ya. It is like Facebook but for your family only and y'all can use it as a family social network - TOTALLY awesome!!!

Okay, as previously announced, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Designs and I have teamed up for our VERY first collaboration together and I've been challenged and excited ALL at the same time!!! Dawn presented me with a BEAUTIFUL set of papers last month after she and I had talked about collabing and deciding on a color palette. Reds, black, white and grays are one of my ALL-TIME favorite palettes just because they SHOUT OUT "classy/classic" and are really VERY versatile across the generations. My challenge? Create ALL of the embellishments!!! I hope I have done Dawn's GORGEOUS papers justice because they are ROCKIN' and are SO perfect for SO many different types of photos! Hmmmm .... I think I am going to need to scrap this week, eh? I've been missing the opportunity to do so and there is NO better time than the present, right? Uh, HUH!!! LOL!

Thank you for the AWESOME challenge and the HONOR of COLLABORATING with you GIRLFRIEND!!! WOO HOO! I see this as the beginning of LOTS more to come!!! *wink*

Thank you to those of you still posting layouts to the guestbook - I LOVE THEM ALL!!! Come on now, DON'T be shy, we all start at the beginning and every scrap is a MASTERPIECE!

Have an AWESOME week everyone!!! Y'all make sure to come back all week long to grab more papers from Dawn's blog, embellishments from ME and an alpha or two and some "scrapatits"/QP's as the week winds down!!! *INTERLUDES* previews are located below with a link to Dawn's blog attached to her single preview and mine located beneath mine as usual! Please make sure to leave my BFF some BIG lovin' for ALL of her hard work and LONG hours in helping to make this a possibility for the TWO of us AT LAST!!! MWAH! Bon Scrapatit!

LOTS OF LOVE,
Linda :)

P.S. Don't forget about the AWESOME grand-opening over at ONE SINGLE SEED and EVERYTHING in the store is 25% off this week! HAVE FUN!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD *INTERLUDES* PAPERS FROM DAWN'S BLOG

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A GRAND OPENING, A LAYOUT SHARE AND A FREEBIE FROM SNOWSMOON'S DESIGN!!!

Hi y'all!!!

Hope to find everyone gearing up for the INCREDIBLE week ahead!!! I am SOOOOO excited as TOMORROW night, my BFF, Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Design and I are going to be debuting our VERY first one-on-one collaboration and it is AWESOME! Dawn and I are going about this a little unconventionally in that she has designed ALL of the papers and I, the embellishments!!! This has been quite a challenge for me as I am used to designing papers, embellies, papers, embellies and so on!!! I've NEVER just designed a paper pack or just embellishments so this has been a FABULOUS experience for me and just wait until you see Dawn's GORGEOUS papers!!! WOO HOO! Yum, yum, yummy, YUM!

Tomorrow, Monday, March 9th, marks the GRAND OPENING of ONE SINGLE SEED formerly known as "Treasures To Scraps", with FABULOUS new designers, a WHOLE new look and both a Paper and a Digital store to serve your scrapping needs.! Click on the image above to be transported to ONE SINGLE SEED to join them this week for LOTS of FUN, GAMES, CHALLENGES and GIVE-AWAYS!

Monna Lainson is a VERY dear friend and a designer at ONE SINGLE SEED and she has just debuted a GORGEOUS heritage kit, *Family Traditions*, which is currently available at HALF-PRICE! Click the image above to be transported directly to Monna's store and her NEW beauty that will have your PRECIOUS family photos preserved in style!

Dawn aka Snowsmoon's Design has created a LOVELY layout using Monna Lainson's, *Family Traditions* and is sharing with ALL of us in SCRAPLAND as a QP!!! Click the image above to be transported to Dawn's blog to download this BEAUTIFUL page! Thank you girlfriends!

Remember to head on back over later tonight for the FIRST part of my collaboration with Dawn! Wishing you all a FANTABULOUS week ahead and may it be a SCRAP-HAPPY one!

Love and hugs,
Linda :)

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