Just because...

Here's another purse I made using my new paper collection. :)

I'll try to get some instructions up one day... I'm kind of swamped lately with work (the real day job!) and craftiness.

Enjoy!

Everyday Celebrations...

is about the little things... and the big things, that make each of our days special. Find something to celebrate every single day! :)

Here it is... the sneak peak of my new collection for Dream Street Papers. Check back soon for some fun projects I will be sharing!

Don't forget to check out the Dream Street Blog for more peaks!

Hugs,
Dana

Purse-Mania...

TWO posts in one day! Wow... that's a record for sure, isn't it?

It's fun to finally be creating again. I really love to be paper crafty, but sometimes I get in a slump and do other things. I'm really feeling inspired lately though so keep checking back for new things. :)

I've been having fun lately creating some cute purses from my papers and vinyl. I have one planned for my new collection... but you'll have to wait to see that for about a week or so.

I'll start with this one... what do ya think?

Dream Street Papers Sneak Peak...

This is such an exciting time of year for us, the designers, at Dream Street Papers! The sneak peaks of our 10 new collections are going up on our blog. There will be 2 collections posted each day this week.

Today, it's Kelly and Audrey (Art Nouveau and Birdie Bits) ... 2 very different collections with such FUN possibilities. They are gorgeous designs.

My collection peak will go up on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Anyway... so go on over to the blog and take a look!

Hugs,
Dana

Mmmmm.... cookies...

If you like Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies... here's a yummy recipe I saw on Martha before Christmas I think.

This photo is from Martha's site and the chocolate looks quite light in color... but I made these with Wilton's dark cocoa mint melting wafers that I found at JoAnn Fabric and they were a nice dark color. FYI... they didn't have the mint ones at my Michael's.

All you do is melt the wafers in the microwave on defrost, checking and stirring frequently. Then just dip the Ritz crackers into the melted chocolate. I used a little pair of tongs.

I also had set my cookie sheets out on the deck in the FREEZING temp before I started. I brought them in and lined them with parchment, dipped the Ritz into the melted chocolate, filled the cookie sheet and then set them outside again for a quick cooling to set the chocolate. Then I just put them into another lined cookie tin and they lasted for days... until I... I mean WE... ate them all. ;)

Anyway... they were super easy and were really yummy! Now if I could only find a recipe for those awesome caramelly coconutty ones... what are those called? Never-mind... don't remind me. I don't need to know. ;)

On the agenda for the week is to clean my home office/craft space. It's getting to be a messy little pit! I just cannot for the life of me keep it organized. I end up working at my desk in a little teensy 6x6 INCH spot because I have so much JUNK around me. What's my problem? Sorry... I won't frighten you with a photo! LOL!

The weather here in Minnesota has been so cold. We had Wind Chills in the -25 degree range over the weekend. Let me tell ya... that's just plain cold. It's a painful cold. Did anyone see that Packers/Giants game? That Giants coach looked like he was getting frost bite on his face. It was so red. My husband and I kept wincing whenever they showed his face on the screen. OUCH!

Thankfully, we are going to warm up into the low 20's by the weekend though. It's silly... but that will seem so much warmer! It will be so nice. :)

HUGS!
Dana

I feel old...

Our son starts Driver's Training tomorrow. I've been dreading this day. It's another sign that he's growing up. I am proud of the wonderful young man he's becoming... but I still miss the little boy... just a bit! ;)

Time goes by way too fast!

I'm busy getting ready for the big Winter 2008 CHA Show. Dream Street Papers will be releasing many new lines. I must say... they are really neat, too! Maybe I'm a bit biased, but they are really cool! As soon as I can show some sneak peaks, I will.

The show is so much fun, but it's a lot of work, too. There's a lot of manual labor involved in setting up and tearing down the booth and being on your feet all day during the show days does completely wear us all out. But we manage to get in some quality girl chat catching up time.

This year, several of us are going to go to Disneyland since it's just down the street. I'm looking forward to it. I'd also like to go to the beach and I am hoping for decent weather. I know it'll be too chilly for a real beach day... but I'd like to see it. It's been years since I've seen the beach and even if it's cold... it'll still be warmer than here in Minnesota!

I'm still working on my goal to pare down my "things"... ya know, simplify and all that. It feels so good to not have too much stuff... but my hoarding instinct is VERY strong! Slowly... I work at it and in gradual steps, it gets easier to let go of those things that I really don't need.

Our Christmas Tree is still up. YES, it's a fake one! :) I've not had much time or motivation to tackle that project yet. Hopefully next week! It's in our basement so my procrastination is not obvious! :)

I've been eyeing up paint chips. I'd love to paint my kitchen and dining room. The color I think I'm going to go with is a Pottery Barn color called Squire Hill Buff. I'm not brave enough to choose a real color because I'm afraid I'll choose poorly... or get tired of it. At least neutrals give me flexibility. So, this Spring that's on my to-do list.

My neighbor had a Taste Of Home Entertaining party. They had some neat things. I held a winning ticket and won a set of 4 pasta bowls. They look like this but each one has a different pasta name on it. They have a brown rim. There is a matching serving bowl... I might get that at some point.



I ordered an Italian Stitch Square serving plate and really cool 4-bowl serving dish. They actually look really neat together. I may like to have some dinner plates that match the Serving Plate. That way, I'll have those pasta bowls with the brown trim and they'll look cute with the square dinner plates, too I think. Well... maybe. :)




So... that's all for now. I'll try to post some creative inspiration soon. One of my goals for the year is to use my supplies more and be more creative.

Hugs,
Dana

A big Cyberspace hello...

OOPS... Somehow I managed to delete the first 2/3 of my post and then save it. So... I'll have to summon up the energy to recap another time. Sorry about that.

Here's what I didn't delete... ;)

I've kind of had sewing on my brain lately and have noticed some really fun ways other crafty girls are reconstructing old clothes into trendy "new" fashions. That's something I'd really like to try one day. I've got pretty basic sewing skills, but would love to be a better seamstress.

I'll leave you with a couple cute little photos of my backyard bunny. He lives under the neighbor's shed and I ADORE seeing him (or her!) each day. I have lots of pictures of this little cutie. Sometimes, he sits for hours soaking in the sunshine. Such a simple pleasure... just makes my heart smile.



HUGS!
Dana

A funny perspective...

Cause we all need that sometimes.

Here's a quote from Kris Carr's - Crazy, Sexy, Cancer Blog...

"Cancer really doesn't want to kill me, I'm the host, if it f***s up the party who else is gonna buy the keg?"

That made me laugh out loud. Just because....

Hugs,
Dana

Time goes by...

...so fast.

I've been kind of in the scrapbooking mood lately. Imagine that?

I've been going through photos from my childhood and I'm about ready to make some pages.

It's so much fun to look at the old photos. Here's one of me and my mommy. She looked so pretty here. It just makes me smile. This photo was taken in October, 1973.

I wish I had better quality photos from when I was a kid. Heck, I wish I had better quality photos from when Kristofer was a baby... but I don't. So I'll scrap what I've got. It's ok. It's about the memories, right?

Halloween is almost upon us and I haven't purchased any treats for the trick or treaters yet. I think I better put that on my Target list for this evening or they could be trouble. LOL!

Here's a really neat photo Scotty took of the recent Full Moon. I just love this one. I think I need to frame it... but I have to find a place for it first!

Hope you all have a great day!

Hugs,
Dana

Bad Blogger...

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. I've started to several times, but then decided against it. Guess I just don't have anything too interesting to share.

Hey Deanna... guess what? I have successfully given up caffeine. I've only had maybe 2 or 3 caffeinated drinks since August 14! Can I get a hi-5? ;)

I had promised my Oncologist I'd give it up to see if my heart flutters would decrease and ya know what? I realized about a week or so ago that I haven't even noticed having one and I was having them several times a day! I think that's so neat. It feels good to be proactive about my health.

Now... I have a new challenge to myself to give up High Fructose Corn Syrup. That's going to be way tougher than the caffeine I think. I've been able to switch to the occasional Sierra Mist to curb my desire for bubbly drinks but that can't last either. I do also like fruit juices with no Sodium Club Soda so maybe that'll be my next switch.

Now... if I could just get motivated to use that darn treadmill in the basement. I seem to be able to talk myself out of that so easily! Apparently, I have limited willpower. I need to work on that, too.

I made Stephanie's Pumpkin Spice Pancakes for breakfast yesterday. It was a little time consuming but they were really yummy. The recipe says it yields 12 pancakes, but I got 16, 1/3 cup pancakes. They were very filling and I could only eat 2 along with a couple links of turkey sausage. :)

This afternoon, I'm going to put some bread going in the bread machine. I just need to decide on a recipe. I'm thinking maybe Italian Herb and then I'll make some Chicken Parmesan to go with it for dinner.

It's rainy and chilly here. It makes me so glad that I can work from home. I love not being rushed to get out the door and drive 45 mins to work. I'm so happy to not have that stress in my life.

Well, speaking of working from home... better get back to WORK! I have lots to accomplish this week!

Oh yeah... the photo is one that Scotty took up North a couple weekends ago. Isn't it pretty? ;)

Happy Monday!
~Dana

Could this be it?

It brings me to tears to think about the possibility. Wow!

Spontaneous Regression of Advanced Cancer in Mice

Hugs,
Dana

Yippee... I have Arthritis!

A very mild case in my lumbar spine... but that's it. My MRI's showed no cancer. THANK GOSH! :)

I also had a quick telephone conversation with my Oncologist about my thoughts on having the Bilateral Mastectomy. He said he didn't think that from a Pathological perspective it was necessary. He said that basically my decision to have the surgery would be an emotional one and that if it would give me peace of mind, then it would be something to think about. Not exactly the same conclusion that my conversation with my Breast Surgeon came to.

There's just nothing cut and dry about my Breast Cancer experience. I don't want it to come back, I don't know why I got it in the first place and I don't know what to do other than "watch" and wait. That's kind of scary.

I think I'm going to do some more research on Fribrocystic changes and Ductal Hyperplasia without Atypia(Usual Ductal Hyperplasia). That's what the biopsy showed. See, once you get cancer, you start playing Doctor. It's one of the ways I'm able to feel a bit of control in a really out of control situation. From what I've read, Ductal Hyperplasia without Atypia increases one's chance of having breast cancer by 1.5-2X. That may seem like not much... but my odds of getting breast cancer in the first place were pretty slim, too.

For me, I think that risk reduction may be worth it. I know what it's like to be told "you have cancer" and how it wreaks havoc on families and sanity... I don't really want to subject my loved ones to more fears if I can do something to prevent it.

So... I have some thinking and reading to do. I might have to dig out Dr. Susan Love's book even though after I read some of it when I was first diagnosed, it frightened me so deeply I relegated it to the dark depths of my closet and vowed to never open it again.

Anyway, in a nutshell, I think I'm fine and relatively healthy. One day at a time... right?

Tomorrow, I'll try to post some of the fun things I've been up to lately. ;)

Hugs!
Dana

Remembering...

the many Hero's of 9/11/2001. My prayers go out to those of you personally affected on that awful day that we will never forget.

Thank you to the men & women of our Armed Forces who give so much to secure our freedom and the freedom of others. I feel so very lucky to live as I do!

More tests...

The fun just never ends! It's been a BUSY week and it appears there's no end in sight!

I had a Breast MRI yesterday, results showed nothing abnormal, Yippee! But apparently I do have very active, somewhat overly active, breast cells. This was determined in my most recent biopsy. This can be an indicator of the cells becoming malignant again in the future ... or then again they may not do anything but be overactive. It's all such a guessing game.

Can I just say that MRI's are not that fun? They are quite loud and it's very disconcerting to have all those obnoxious noises clanking and gonging at odd times. However, I'm so happy that I have this technology available to me... so it's worth it. ;)

I had my appt with the Breast Surgeon and she agreed with my thinking. The girls must go. I will have an appt with the Plastic Surgeon next Thursday to go over options for reconstruction.
I'm not thrilled with having to go through this and I am scared about the surgery... but I feel like it's the right thing to do. So I'm comforted by that.

On Friday, Sept. 14 at 5PM I'm going to have another MRI. This time of my lower spine and right hip because I've been having pain. There's always a concern of pain being caused by cancer once you've had it, so it's best to just not mess around. Breast Cancer has a tendency to metastasize to the bones so it's a real risk. But from what I understand, Breast Cancer in the bones is quite treatable. There's no cure, but there are some good treatments that help keep it at bay. I have Osteopenia, low bone density. So I'm going to have another DEXA Study, too, to see if there have been any changes there that may account for the pain.

I tell ya... I'm just falling apart! Oh well... I'll keep ya'll posted. :)

Hugs,
Dana

A HUGE sigh of relief...

The results for my biopsy are in... BENIGN, fibrocystic changes = NO CANCER!

I'm thankful that I do self exams and try to notice changes. I'm even more thankful for the MRI I have scheduled next week so I can get a good idea as to whether or not there's anything else going on... and then, I'll plot their demise! ;)

Tracy, thanks for thinking of me! :)

Hugs,
Dana

Maybe I spoke too soon...

Sometimes I feel "normal" but then I'm smacked with a reminder that I'm not exactly normal anymore. Cancer will forever be a part of my life. I don't want it to BE my life... but it seems to keep creeping back in.

Anyway, I found another lump on my "good" side a week ago. So... more testing... mammogram, ultrasound and the previously scheduled MRI. All the waiting is just plain tough. I had the Mammo & US this afternoon and the abnormality was visible as day on US. (I forgot to ask about the Mammo- it's totally overwhelming when you're on the spot!) My Dr. thinks it might be fibrocystic changes, which is totally ok and benign, but there was a soft tissue component that throws a wrench in that scenario so he performed a needle biopsy and took about 6 samples. I'll know the pathology tomorrow.

Ya know, I was a bit upset when I first noticed the new lump... but I think I've come to terms with it now. I've been there, done that once, so the situation is not totally new to me and doesn't feel so hopeless. I've given it lots of thought (Duh!) and I asked for a consult with a surgeon to talk about options for removing the NAUGHTY GIRLS completely. Can I just say I'm about sick of them at this point? Where's the paring knife? I'm kidding... I think... ;)
Anyway... I have an appt. next Weds afternoon to discuss their demise!

I know that there are so many people dealing with much more difficult issues in their lives than this so I'm really trying to keep this situation in perspective. ONce again, it's all about perspective. That's what keeps me sane!

FYI... I really enjoyed watching "Crazy, Sexy, Cancer" last night on TLC. I laughed and I cried, but generally was left with such a good feeling. It's good to be happy... it just feels better that way.

Hugs,
Dana

Just more of the same...

Not much new going on around here. But... I like it that way!
I find a lot of comfort in the status quo.

Kristofer had schedule day and we went to the High School and walked around. It's a pretty big school and a bit confusing in it's layout. I'm guessing there will be a lot of 10Th graders wandering around lost and late to class the first week or so. I know I would have been one of them! LOL!

Anyway, he's a bit disappointed in that he didn't get into Video Production this Fall with his 3 best friends. They all got in... but not him. He got in Spring semester. I feel bad for him, cause I know how much he would have enjoyed that experience. They love to make movies together and it would have been great fun. The mommy in me wishes she could fix everything... but alas, I cannot. It's tough to be a mom! ;)

I'm still working on purging my stuff. It's a slow-go process. Sometimes it seems like I just push the things around and never really get anywhere. But I really know that it's just stuff and I don't "need" it all. It's a waste to have things I'll never use just sitting around taking up space. Kind of gets in the way of seeing and using all the things I do want to keep.


Evening before last, I made these yummy Almond and Chocolate Clusters They turned out pretty good. (I didn't make the white chocolate ones, though. I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate unless it's in Peppermint Bark.) I think I may try them again but add some coconut to them... then they'll be like an Almond Joy. :)

Hugs,
Dana

Crazy Sexy Cancer...

Wow... 2 words I've never said or even thought of about cancer! Anyhow, just saw this movie advertised on TLC tonight. Crazy Sexy Cancer will be airing on The Learning Channel (TLC) this August 29th at 9 pm. Check your local listings... I think that's EST.

Kris Carr also has a blog.

Ooh... Edited post to add that she also has a book coming out, Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips.

Bonus: She has a book signing near me!

September 17
Barnes and Noble; 2100 North Snelling Avenue
Roseville, MN
7:00-8:30pm

Cancer truly sucks... and I hate it... passionately! But I never tire in seeing how it often brings out the most wonderful and beautiful qualities of our human existence. Does that sound hokey? Oh well, if it does! It's so darn true!

Oh... and about the name... Crazy Sexy Cancer. Very clever! I think I get it.

I don't doubt for a second that she doesn't understand intimately just how awful cancer is... and for many it's tough to find anything remotely "crazy" or "sexy" about it. But I can't live that way... and if there's the tiniest bit of "crazy" or "sexy" to be found... that's where I'll be. "I'm bringing sexy back..." just like JT! Love that attitude! Remember... it's all about perspective!

Life is precious and all too short... I won't waste a single moment on being miserable if it's in my power to do otherwise.

Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to seeing this movie. Maybe you'll want to take a look, too.

Hugs,
Dana

Mimi & Flo...

This is so silly and cute!

The Mimi & Flo Show

Enjoy!

I'm The Lucky One...

Just trying something new... like I need a new addictive hobby! ;)



It makes me cry happy tears... but I guess it would... it's my life... ;)

What do ya think?

Hugs,
Dana