Be Thankful!

This year has been, well---trying to say the least...
So that's why I'd like to tell everyone what I'm thankful for, this Thanksgiving.  First and most importantly, I am extremely thankful for my grandparents. Not so long ago, my grandma was in the hospital and we weren't sure she'd make it. Now she's make a 99% recovery (she still needs a liver transplant), and has happily gone back to helping grandpa cook, in their kitchen. I haven't seen her smile the way she does when she's cooking, in a long while.
Secondly, I'm thankful for my sister, Kelly. She helped push me back into creativity, after I went through my uninspiration period. Since that time, I've flourished with inspiration and ideas. If I didn't do paper crafts and write, who knows where I'd be? And it's so nice to be able to share such a passion with my sister, of all people.

I'm also incredibly thankful for my sister, Jenny, and my dad. My dad works nights, and it feels so comforting to have someone to come home to. This year's been rough for all three of us, financially, so it's so nice to feel like we're in this together as a family, making it impossible for us to fail, or feel like we're in this alone.

Last, but definitely not least, I'm so very thankful to God that he's helped me get through this year as well as I have. You see, I've never been single, and it's hard to start down that road if you've never been. After two weeks, of finally "being real with myself", learning to put myself first (something I've never done before), and becoming more aware of my actions in dating and relationships, I can feel myself becoming stronger. It's taken alot of strength, but it feels good to know that I'm going to get through this, and come out better than I was before this. After all you know what they say: to love someone else you have to love yourself first.

So with that said, I hope you count your blessings, and I wish you a very safe and happy holiday! Be thankful for whatever you have. I know I am. :)

Ruche.com

Today has to be the proudest day of my life. Last week, Ruche Clothing was looking for stories of inspiration and hope, about cancer. I decided to write one about a poet named Gabrielle Bouliane that I knew in Austin, TX. So I wrote it, Saturday, and forgot about it for a couple days. I had planned on emailing Ruche after about a week or so. Then I got a call from my sister tonight, while I was at work. She told me that Ruche had published my story!!!! I'm so excited. I'm so proud of myself. I made it a point to go on Gabrielle's facebook page to thank her. And though I wish I didn't have to tell that story, I couldn't be happier that I get to spread her message to more people.

Feel free to check it out here.
http://shopruche.blogspot.com/2011/10/love-stories-bunny-up.html

And this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rRwaPkfwo4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It's impossible to not cry, I know. A beautiful poem, from a brave woman.

Bunny up!

Kristy <3

Busy, busy, busy

I've forgotten about this blog yet again. When I forget, I guess I feel that I don't have very many important subjects to write about. Hopefully, my new google reader app will keep it from being to far in my mind, and keep my eye on the ball.

So I've been scrapbooking alot, and of course, going to garage and estate sales. I found the poster, and though it's just cardboard, it looks very old. After I frame it, no one will know the difference. :)

I used to use the black and white perfume tray but my perfume bottles fall off all the time. So when I saw this one, I knew I had to have it. :) It works so much better on the dresser I'm using now.

Thats it for now. Ill try not to be such a stranger. :)

New Month, New Me!

There's something refreshing about ripping off the page of the previous month, to get ready for a new one. There's something healing about it! I did just that this morning. Im ready to move into the fun in September. And this month brings alot of it! I'm going to the Elgin  Historic Homes Tour, September 10th. I went to the Hyde Park Hints Tour, in Austin, TX, and I was bit by the history bug. :). I just knew I had to find more of these tours when I got back home. If you'd like to check it out, here's the link.
http://www.gifford-park-assoc.org/tour11/

Then, that same day, I have to race back home and I'll be attending the family picnic, at my cousin Ella's house.
Sunday, September 11th, brings lots of country fun, because I'll be at the Sandwich Fair  in Sandwich, Illinois. If you're in the state, this is a great place to check out. There will be an antique mall, which I am VERY excited about, and good food, a carnival, and great music.
I love that I can find  that small town
feel so close to such a big, congested, area like Chicago. It's nice to get a way, to say the least. Haha. :)
http://sandwichfair.com/

And who can forget, the Atmosphere concert September 13th, in Madison, Wisconsin. That's the event I'm looking forward to the most. If you like underground hip hop, definitely check them out. They're my favorite band.
http://rhymesayers.com/atmosphere/

This is a two part story <3

Part 1:
When you're scrapbooking with an unknown destination, you never know where your path will take you. For instance, I got a smash book from Kelly about 3 months ago, and put it in a dresser drawer (extra scrapbook supplies space). I left it there there through my uninspiration period, and finally started it- last night. Today is the first time I've actually sat down to put any time into it. The funny part is that I had no intentions of starting it tonight! I sat down thinking that I'd work on a couple 12x12 pages, but I have been carrying my smash book around for a couple days hoping to stamp something into it. Which I did. However, that led me to get out my new Melissa Frances bling that I got from Kelster Jean at the Scrapbook Convention, and put some of it on. :) That's part one...

Part two:
There's something about the Fox Valley, Illinois area, that's beginning to capture my heat. I was off on Wednesday, so on the spur of the moment, I went out to Kelly's, so we could scrapbook. Since I LOVE antiques, I drove to Sandwich, IL, to check out several antique stores, including Prindi's, Maggie's De Ja Vu, and Red Geranium. If I had more time, I would've went to all of them. I mean, there's something about the cute little shops, rows and rows of corn fields, open roads, and big country sky. I can't get enough of it! It was VERY hard for me to leave that area, so I could go back home, and go to work. I knew I'd miss that area as soon as I left it. Slowly, the Fox Valley area is moving in on my heart. And I have to admit, it would be kind of nice living in an area that reminds me alot of some of Texas's areas. Hmmmmmmmmm :)

The photo is of one of my new favorite booth, inside Prindi's. :)

When Kristy Got Her Groove Back

So lately, I've been scrapbooking, which has been rare for me  because I was going through a dead inspiration period. As in, my inspiration was dead.  It was a couple weeks ago, that I began to feel alive again. No, REALLY!! Since I got back in Chicago, I've been completely uninspired. There were times when I'd sit down and want to scrapbook so badly, but couldn't. It was almost as if I'd reverted back to the first year I'd ever scrapbooked. I thought I'd never get it back, and couldn't figure out why I was completely unmotivated to make anything, or how long it would be until I just got over it!!!
Then one night, I went to Heartland Cafe, in Rogers Park, and had an awesome night. I came home, and the spell was broken. I don't know what it was, but I hope I never go through a period of unmotivation for that long again! It's the worst feeling you could ever imagine, as if everything you know and love is gone.
Anyway, I decided to let everyone know that I've  come back to  the inspiration board full force.  These are what I've made since I've been back (as if I went on a trip or something-lol). They're in order from oldest to newest, in the photo with all 6 of them. Enjoy!!!

So as everyone knows, I love going garage saling. I love it, because you never know what you'll find. Last weekend, when when I was supposed to be getting ready for Kelly's wedding, I was out checking out garage sales. I came across a WHOLE set of dishes, from the 70's. I didn't take a picture of them, but they're very floral-y, with lots of green, yellows, and oranges. But my best finds this weekend came from a sad story. My dad and I were driving around and came across an estate sale where a beautiful family was selling their father's belongings. They told us he had a fall, and went to the hospital, and a week later he passed away because of heart troubles. Everything in the house, the daughter-in-law told us, was for sale. And he had some beautiful pieces!!! Poor thing. I would've traded all those items to meet this interesting man. There was love, and care in that house. You could tell that each item was picked with a keen eye. This man...was a collector. May you rest in peace, always.

Thrift Store Finds

Today, I went to the thrift store and found the following awsome finds:

This is going to be towards my 1940's look, which I love so very much. It has lace across the top. I had to put some pants on underneath, because currently it's see-through. It's by Kristy Michaels. When I realized that, I had to have it. Haha. :)

This in Anne Klein. It's more for fall, but I love the beautiful colors.

This dress is by BB Dakota. When I looked it up, I realized that this designer is also sold on Modcloth.com, so I knew I had to get it.

This didn't have a tag in it, but it's absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if I'll be putting a shirt under it or not. I took this picture with my bra underneath, and it looks very nice that way...

This is by Calvin Klein. I love it!



I payed just over 16.00, total. Pretty good, huh? Sorry the background, and the way you can see me taking a photo. I need to invest in a tripod! :)

SMASH!

So, for father's day, Kelly and Alex came over, and they brought me a Smashbook! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!

For those of you who don't know what that it is, here goes:

K&Company came up with a book to put all of the things that inspire you in a book, no matter what it is, or where you are. It even comes with a pen with glue on the other end, so you can write things down, on-the-go, and put them in your book!

And there are several themes to fit your personal style!!

So if you're feeling uninspired, go get this right now :)

Oogie

So those of you who follow this blog, know that I put on it, all the books I've read and finished. But this one deserved it's own post. It's called "Oogy: the dog only a family could love," by Larry Levin. It's the story of a dog that was used as bait in an unknown dog fighting ring, dropped off at a local animal hospital, by a police officer, then saved by his family. The thing is he came in with such horrible wounds to his face, he had to have his face reconstructed, and now only has one ear. A sad story, that turned into a heart-warming one, because after being adopted, he became the best dog ever.

I really recommend this book. And if you want more info, Oogy's on facebook! Here's the link to this good book, and adorable pup.

I've only just begun

Well, I tried to upload my 10 photos to shutterstock today, only to find out that I can't upload under 4mp. That sucks. Oh well. I have a lot to learn. Ha ha!

If I could have uploaded them, these would be the ones I would've submitted

Long Time Gone

It's been a long time. I think I'm going through a quarter life crisis. I know it sounds funny, and I didn't actually believe the term until I heard John Mayer's "Why Georgia" lyrics. "Must be a quarter life crisis." No, but really! I started looking into it, and it turns out that there is actually a such thing. How does this apply to me, you ask? Well, for those of you who know me, I'm a nurse assistant. I love to scrapbook, and hobby in photography, and I love, love, LOVE poetry, but I don't think I do well enough to call myself a poet. A writer, maybe, but poets are far more amazing at writing than I am.

Anyway, I'm not sure when I realized that I didn't want to be a nurse anymore, but it has something to do with my current job at an unspecified rehab center. The thing is, I just don't FEEL it anymore. I still love taking care of patients, but sometimes the place is so damn understaffed that I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. That's definitely not HAPPY me. So, I've been doing some soul-searching. I attended a "Discover the Possibilities" class at Moraine Valley Community College, which let me take a career quiz. There are two parts. The first part is a quiz, with results. So far it hasn't been very helpful, because there are far too many career options. I still have yet to take the second part, which will help me look into several career options.

For the time being, I'm considering the following:
*something in the writing business (editor? Journalist? Writer?)
*something in health care (xray tech? medical assistant? EMT?)

No matter which way I turn, one career keeps trying to rear it's head: photography. I used to love taking photos for poets at Neo Soul. It was just for something to do. But one of them asked me how much I could do a shoot for? Since it's a hobby, I don't have a price. Then Joe Brundidge, another poet friend keeps telling me that I'd make an amazing photographer. While photography doesn't pay the bills, I wonder if I should do it as a side job and learn as much as humanly possible about it, and then possibly go into photography as a full time career, AFTER I know tons about it. I even looked it up on youtube, and stumbled upon this photographer named Lara Blair. She takes photos of dogs. She did two videos on youtube, and in one of them she says to read your camera manual from cover to cover. So that's just what I'll do. And practice, practice, practice. As for the career thing, I'm still undecided, but I've filed my FAFSA, and I have until Fall 2011 to figure out just what the hell it is that I'm doing.

Here's to lots of soul searching research...

Books I've Read, will get back to, want to read

Read:
Elizabeth Berg-Durable Goods, We Are All Welcome Here, The Year of Pleasures
Steve Dublanica-Waiter Rant
Sophie Kinsella-Remember Me?
Jimmy Fallon-Thank You Notes
Getting Over Jack Wagner
How to be Happy, Dammit! Kathryn Stockett-The Help

Will get back to:
John Dies At the End
World War Z

Want to read: