Photo by:
Julia Freeman-Woolpert
Concord, NH, United States

I am taking 2 stamping classes next week. I am excited! This past year, I've wanted to learn to rubber stamp. Alot of people say it's easy. For some reason, I just "don't get it". I have difficulty applying color the correct way. I have hope I can learn to stamp. Taking the first step is the most difficult, right?

Yesterday, we took some clients (developmentally disabled adults) to the mall to purchase Christmas presents for their family and friends. The lady who planned it decided to go to "her" mall. It's one of the most expensive malls in Florida! Our clients purchased their lunch. They were not able to afford items in the stores. We had a group photo taken with "Santa". Santa asked everyone what they wanted for Christmas. The responses were shirts, DVD's and cameras. I asked to keep my job. Our other staff asked for the same thing. The area Santa sat was decorated in a Victorian style with extra silver and gold. Large floral arrangements which would look great on a kings banquet table created a gorgeous carpet surrounded by large ornaments. Inside the ornaments, were miniature European villages Celebrating Christmas. Large pieces of fruit (?) and glittery leaves hung with 4 dimensional diamond shaped lamps. It was a wonderland surrounded by (fake) lavender gardens.

It was fun teaching them money and budgeting skills. One of our clients' Father died this year of Alzheimers. The client has autism. In the middle of the store she said in a robotic voice: "I cannot buy my Dad a gift because he's dead." Luckily, she responded to verbal redirection.

One of my clients is deaf. He works at our Center as a maintenance man. He trims the bushes, tends to the gardens, cleans up the patio after lunch, empties trash, takes care of emergency situations in the bathrooms, goes on occasional thrift store item pick ups and delivers items to our thrift shop which is on campus. He does a fantastic job and always gets great reviews. He is able to hang out with staff but not the clients. I worked hard for him to take the day off and go with us to the mall.

My sign language has dramatically improved, even with fibro fogs! My client who is deaf chose to hang out with me and 3 other ladies. He was amazed how expensive items are in a mall. He was very observant of the ladies. Often he would sign a question and I would sign a response. I didn't take my ASL alphabet or "cheat sheets". It was fun communicating in a language few can understand.

At the end of our trip we ate lunch. My deaf client interacted with other clients. He asked about their lives. Where they work and who they live with (group home, family or own apartment). He had a great time not as an employee but with his new friends. Knowing our clients had a great time is a fantastic Christmas present for our staff.

Christmas Journal

For the past few days, I have not been able to participate in Shimelle's class, Journal Your Christmas. After some consideration, I decided to blog my class experience.

What do you think about Christmas weather?

The weather in Florida is absolutely gorgeous. I love this time of year. It's like the perfect summer day in the northern USA.


Christmas cards.

Do you buy them or make them?: Neither
What day of the month do you try to send them?: No particular day.
When do you actually send them?: I used to send them the weekend after Thanksgiving.
How many do you send?: I used to send about 30 a year but am not sending any for the 2nd year in a row.
Is it just a quick address-and-sign job, or do you relish the opportunity to write notes to long-lost friends who only exist on your Christmas card list these days?
I used to write a family Christmas letter. Only one relative said she enjoyed the letter. It didn't seem worth my while to send it for one relative.
If you receive a card from someone you didn’t expect, do you quickly send a card back? No
What’s your system for keeping names and addresses ready for the job?: I have a small organizer with addresses and phone numbers.
What is the price of a postage stamp this Christmas? .44 cents
How many cards will you send? None
How do you display cards you receive?: I will recycle the cards for the hospital cards for next year. I keep up with my family through email and Facebook. I made cards this year for a local hospital and for the troops in Iraq. I know it seems odd-making cards for strangers instead of loved ones. Making the cards helps me feel good, giving to those who need a "card hug" from a stranger.








Write specifically about one little seasonal thing you love during this time of year.

I love listening to Christmas music as I fall asleep at night. I don't have a favorite Christmas song, however, I love the songs sung by Bing Crosby. They remind me of a time when life small main street stores displayed their finest goods. In the center of town, a large Christmas tree invited carolers of all ages. Ah, such bliss. Yes, it's great to imagine life in a simpler time.

Don't forget the card contest on my blog!

CARD CONTEST DEADLINE JANUARY 31, 2010

This blog has evolved towards making cards out of items people could not use. There are quite a few charities that accept cards to cheer their clients/patients. I support the smaller organizations. I'd love to make cards round the clock. My energy is limited. I NEED YOUR HELP! To bribe you, every month, I will host card crafting contests. This will encourage (bribe) you to send cards to me. In turn, I will give your cards to charity.

Since we are headed into the Christmas season, I thought it would be fair to delay the deadline for the first contest. The deadline is: January 31, 2009

The first contest:
Create one or more cards for the contest. The categories are:

~Thinking of You
~Get Well
~Inspirational
~Use of a quote
~"Kid" card
~"Praying for you" (use those words) Card
~One random winner
~Person who sends in the most cards.

All entries:
must be handmade
Can be any size
Please specify card category which you want to enter.

Send entries to:
Cindy Jones
PO Box 542766
Greenacres, FL 33454-2766

Seven winners will be chosen.
1. One winner for the most awesome "Thinking of You" Card. ($15.00 value)
2. One winner for the most awesome "Get Well" Card ($15.00 value)
3. One winner for the most awesome "Inspirational" Card ($15.00 value)
4. One winner for the most awesome "Praying for You" Card (with words-praying for you). ($15.00 value)
5. One winner for the most awesome "Kid" Card (for an ill child)($15.00 value)
6. One random winner for sending in a card($15.00 value)
7. One winner who sends the most cards! ($30.00 value)

The Winners will be announced February 1, 2010 on this blog.

Prizes won are NEW card crafting items. (No, I am not going to give you a hint...) You can see the prizes when I post the winning cards.

Send in your cards. My mailing address is on the right hand side bar of this blog.
When your card(s) arrive, I will post your first name and location, on my blog.

Future contest deadlines will be: the last day of each month.
Winners will be announced within 3 days of each deadline.
One or more card categories will change each month!

The Sleep Study

Last night, I had a sleep study. I was lucky it could be done from my home. I looked like a science experiment for a college science course. People with fibro often have sleep apnea or other sleep disorders. I had to sleep alone. My Husband slept on the couch. Animals weren't allowed. However, my dog, Precious was very anxious when she was banned from the room. I blocked the area she could walk through because of the equipment. As always, she slept on the floor, right next too me.

I got out of bed two times. Both times, I did not hook myself back up correctly. The sleep center called and told me I wasn't hooked up. When the phone rang, my Husband ran in the room and quickly hooked me up. When the connection was confirmed, I hung up and went back to sleep.

It was interesting. I had 22 wires attached to my body. In addition, a video camera recorded my sleep and 2 microphones recorded my breathing noise. I didn't get a good night's sleep and couldn't wait to put all the wires off this morning. I am grateful we have fantastic insurance which covered the sleep study.

Don't forget the card contest. I posted it on November 29, 2009.

I created my cover page for "Journal Your Christmas".
Here it is:


Yesterday, I saw my therapist. I am seeing her to learn to deal with the limitations of having fibro. She said I have accepted the illness. It's a major victory for me to accept it. Now, I need to:
1. Build a support group of people I can call when I am feeling depressed due to the fibro.
2. Make friends. All of my friends are at work. Most of my friends, at work, will most likely get laid off in a few weeks.
3. Expand the free time in my life to engage in activities which are meaningful to me.
4. Prepare a fibro kit for low, moderate and high pain days. This includes humorous movies, relaxing activities, list of people I can call, ect.....

I asked 2 people at work to be a part of my support group who I can call when I hit a low. They looked at me like I was crazy. I guess I need to find new friends who I can call when I am low. Easier said than done!
I signed up for 2 rubber stamping classes for December. I'll rest a few days before the classes so I can enjoy them. I also signed up for an ATC swap at the same place!

This upcoming weekend, I will begin preparing my fibro kit. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment!

Don't forget the card contest. I posted it on November 29, 2009. Have a fantastic day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Journal Your Christmas

Ah, Shimelle's class: Journal Your Christmas.
In 2007, I signed up for the class. I completed about 1/4 of my journal. In 2008, I was a repeat participant. Except, I didn't participate. I was in a fibro fog. I didn't care about JYC. It's 2009 and I am excited about JYC! Why?

1. I can blog my JYC. I took Shimelle's blogging class. I love blogging.
2. JYC has a digital kit this year.
3. If I don't participate one day, due to health reasons, then I don't participate that day. I can journal a sentence why I didn't participate or not do anything at all. I can participate when I feel good. Wow! What a revelation! Previously, it was "all or nothing" for me. If I didn't do all, I would not be successful. Now, successful means breathing, eating and loving others. I have to credit my therapist for planting such thoughts in my head.



Christmas. Oh, such a voltile subject for my inner child. I love Christmas. I love the positive energy of Christmas. I love the time off of work. (Almost 2 weeks!). I love being with my crazy family. Yes, they are crazy and there is usually a tif or two between my Mother and my Sister. I have to credit my Husband for showing me how to be neutral in those situations.

Right now, I am struggling with the thought of putting up and decorating a Christmas tree. If I do, I know how I want it to look. A few weeks ago, I went through our ornaments. Some ornaments bring back memories of good times in our lives. I'm struggling with putting up a tree because my Husband and Son do not want to do it. I am the only one who would decorate the tree. We won't be home Christmas morning to enjoy the tree. We always go to my Mom's house Christmas Eve and stay overnight. The drive is too long to drive up and back the same night.

My Husband hates presents. Yes, can you believe it? My Son is the same way. I think it involves the giver anticipating a phenomenal response from them. If they don't give an enthusiastic response, they feel they are letting the other person down. Also, they don't like the idea of "strings" attached to a gift. My Husband says, "I know you love me. You don't have to buy me a gift to show it. My Husband buys his own presents". He says "I get what I want when I buy my own presents." He buys me a present but always gives it to me within a day of his purchase. He does the same with our Son's presents.

This year, we agreed to only give my Mom a gift for Christmas. My Mother-In-Law said she doesn't want any Christmas gifts because she doesn't need anything. Luckily, we celebrate her January birthday early, so her Christmas presents become Birthday presents. My Mom is receiving a gift card. My Sister and I agreed our families do not need anything. We decided NOT to exchange presents.

Should I put up a tree without any presents? It does seem like an awful lot of work. Maybe, a decision will be made as I "Journal My Christmas". Right now, I do not want to think about making a decision. I hate to say it, but I am allowed NOT to make a decision. It's not a matter of life or death. It's a matter of personal growth.

Don't forget the extended card contest I posted on November 29, 2009. I'd love to make cards round the clock. My energy is limited. I NEED YOUR HELP! To bribe you, every month, I will host card crafting contests. This will encourage(bribe) you to send cards to me. In turn, I will give your cards to charity.

Since we are headed into the Christmas season, I thought it would be fair to delay the deadline for the first contest. The deadline is: January 31, 2009

The first contest:
Create one or more cards for the contest. The categories are:
Thinking of You
Valentine's Day
St. Patrick's Day
Get Well
Birthday
Person who sends in the most cards.

Seven winners will be chosen.
1. One winner for the most awesome "Thinking of You" Card. ($15.00 value)
2. One winner for the most awesome "Valentine's Day" Card ($15.00 value)
3. One winner for the most awesome "St.Patrick's Day" Card ($15.00 value)
4. One winner for the most awesome "Get Well" Card ($15.00 value)
5. One winner for the most awesome "Birthday" Card ($15.00 value)
6. One random winner for sending in a themed card($15.00 value)
7. One winner who sends the most cards! ($30.00 value)
See yesterday's entry for more details.

Have a great day!

The winner is...........

It's about half past five pm and I have a winner for someone who posted 5 things for which he/she is grateful.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I have fibromyalgia. I woke this morning in pain. I rode my bike yesterday because my doctor "encouraged" me to move my body. In the last 6 months, I stopped exercising because I always hurt the next day. My doctor told me to increased my pain medication and prescribed Lyrica.

I was diagnosed earlier this year. My doctor said I was having difficulty accepting my illness. The old me died. People who have fibro often grieve for their old self. The "new me" refused to adapt to a "new life". Doc prescribed mental health therapy.

My therapist suggested I blog. About Fibromyalgia. Since I didn't like the "new me", I found myself rolling my eyes. Couldn't I escape the "new me?"

She asked about my interests: digital scrapbooking, making cards, photography, digital art and old me walking and biking. A blog about digital art appealed to me. However, the "new me" limits computer time to avoid pain. The "new me" had 2 other options: photography and making cards. Photography was out. Taking pics in the hot and humid summer months in Florida did not appeal to me. I was left with one choice. The art of making cards.

Hence, this blog evolved towards making cards out of items people could not use.
There are quite a few charities that accept cards to cheer their clients/patients. I support the smaller organizations. I'd love to make cards round the clock. My energy is limited. I NEED YOUR HELP! To bribe you, every month, I will host card crafting contests. This will encourage(bribe) you to send cards to me. In turn, I will give your cards to charity.

Since we are headed into the Christmas season, I thought it would be fair to delay the deadline for the first contest. The deadline is: January 31, 2009

The first contest:
Create one or more cards for the contest. The categories are:
Thinking of You
Valentine's Day
St. Patrick's Day
Get Well
Birthday
Person who sends in the most cards.

All entries:
must be handmade
must have an envelope

All entries:
Can be of any size
No glitter.

Seven winners will be chosen.
1. One winner for the most awesome "Thinking of You" Card. ($15.00 value)
2. One winner for the most awesome "Valentine's Day" Card ($15.00 value)
3. One winner for the most awesome "St.Patrick's Day" Card ($15.00 value)
4. One winner for the most awesome "Get Well" Card ($15.00 value)
5. One winner for the most awesome "Birthday" Card ($15.00 value)
6. One random winner for sending in a themed card($15.00 value)
7. One winner who sends the most cards! ($30.00 value)

The Winners will be announced February 1, 2010 on this blog.

Prizes won are NEW card crafting items. (No, I am not going to give you a hint...) You can see the prizes when I post the winning cards.

Send in your cards. My mailing address is on the right hand side bar of this blog.
When your card(s) arrive, I will post your first name and location, on my blog.

Future contest deadlines will be: the last day of each month.
Winners will be announced within 3 days of each deadline.
One or more card categories will change each month!

Hosting the contests will:
enable me to meet other people via the internet.
enable me to help others!
enable me to have fun!

Thank you for reading the information. I couldn't chose one winner who posted the the best "things for which I am grateful." I admired all of you for seeing the good in this world. During these tough times, it can be difficult to be grateful. I used the True Random Generator to find the winner.

True Random Number Generator
Min:
Max:
Result: 16
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The winner of the floral stamp set is: Helen! Please contact me so I can obtain your mailing addresss! Congratulations!

Feel free to announce the first contest on your blog or website. Let's create cards for those who need happiness and cheer.

I'm giving away a set of acrylic stamps through Sunday, November 29, 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday, my Husband, son and I traveled to Mims, Florida. We stayed overnight with my Mother-In-Law. Today, we met Ron's brother and we ate our Thanksgiving Dinner at a buffet restaurant. The food was great. I am glad we went early as there was a waiting line for tables when we left.
What makes you grateful on this Thanksgiving Holiday? (Try to list 5 things!)

1. My Husband
2. My Son
3. My Husband and I both have jobs.
4. My dog and cat
5. Sleeping in my comfortable bed tonight.
6. I am thankful for the people who are donating and who have offered to donate supplies so I can create CARDS FOR A CAUSE.

We arrived home about an hour ago. I am happy to be home.
On Sunday, November 29, 2009, I will post the opportunity for you to win more block and acrylic rubber stamps throughout 2010. If you want to be informed, please subscribe to my blog.

What makes you grateful on this Thanksgiving Holiday? (Try to list 5 things!) On Sunday, November 29, 2009 I will choose one person, who left a comment, to receive a NEW pack of flowery acrylic stamps. Happy Thanksgiving!