Hello Again...

Well, I have been away for awhile. I did miss blogging but my life had become filled with a lot of stuff to do and I had to make choices about what was most important, and oh yeah and I only have one follower thanks Ms. Brown English Muffin...

My life has lots of happenings since I last blogged...


My daughter is a senior in high school, class of 2013. On her birthday in November she will become an adult the big 18. We live in Vegas so you really want to be 21 so you can enjoy the many Casinos we have here. We have started fun of college applications.

My son turns 16 in December. He wants a drivers license. Maybe. He is a good teenager given all of the stories I hear from my friends and coworkers. 

The ole man had some serious health problems that sent him to the hospital last month. He is doing much better, so we are very blessed and we know it.

I have been on the roller coaster ride of my life. After being injured on the job, surgery on my knee, my battle with the nasty RA, losing a career I loved as an electrician, starting a business and like a lot of Americans wondering if I will be able to keep my home.    

I have realized that their are still a lot of things I want to do and have not had the chance to yet. I Still feel Like I should have a career that is more creative. I love paper yes I do. I love messing around with my photoshop and planning events for the organizations I belong to.  But can I make a living doing this and would my family disown me because I would disappear without a trace while doing these things.  Case in point: I've been in my scraproom for most of the day. I most admit I have not scrapbooked in almost a year. Just been lusting over pretty paper and digital kits. I have attempted to take online classes with not much success, except my last Shimelle class scrapbook remix that started in late October. Oh and my project life class at Big Picture Classes. This class is to get ready for next year 2013. So I bought the project 365 binder kit in I don't know 2008 or 2009, never used it so when the class came up at BPC I told myself you don't have to by a thing...right, of course I needed something. I want to do a 180 days album for my daughter's senior year, we will see how that works out.

I really want to slow down and decide what really makes me the happiest and do that. So what is that? good question... I can't be still long enough to figure it out. My soul is restless. Any advise out there for a restless soul? I have been praying...and it has really helped kept me calm. Have I said I've slowed down...Really I have. I guess I need to pray, get still and listen very well... 

Because I know Beautiful Changes Are Coming...

Hello April

Well it's April 1st and the weather has been rather warm for this time of year. Trees are blooming and its been such a mild winter everyone's wandering what will summer bring. We are guessing it will be very hot.

Missing in action...Again

Well its been two months since I posted and I don't feel guilty at all. Glad to say I was living life...I enjoyed Christmas to the fullest, no worries, the lest amount of stress I have experienced in a long time.In January I decided what really made me excited enough to wanna get out of bed...and it's not Cisco. So I'm in the process of making that happen, more about that later. I've been more creative lately. Having to much fun at my craft parties...thanks to my friends. My Health is pretty good right now, minimal pain, Yay! I can almost go in any clothing store and shop, again Yay! 20-30 more pounds and a little toning, I should be a size 10-12, I'm a 14-16-18 now, I had gotten up to a size 26. I am getting ready for the red, white and pink holiday on Monday. I plan to give way some goodies I've seen on some of the cutest blogs, they have great ideas. I'm acting like June Clever today... got up early made breakfast for the family, started a load of laundry, pull my stove out and cleaned that area everyone tries to forget about.I must have been out of my mind...to late it" done. Last but not lest, I posted on my blog by 11:00 AM. WOW Hope your day is as good as mine...

Getting ready for 2011

I have been wanting to make some changes to my blog, and I have started. Im starting a new one for my crafts - Paper....Scissors...Fabric...and keeping this for personal stuff. I have wanted to start a blog for crafting but I was afraid, well I'm not anymore... the worst thing that could happen is that no one will read it...I can live with that. I"ll probably shut down shutter ramblings cause... well... I never post on it...
I thought about paying to have my blogs done but since I'm trying to change my spending habits, I'll save that money for Christmas...
so....anyway pardon my dust...

Relationships

Coasting...
I have been coasting in my personal relationships I’m not giving more than I’m taking.

A relationship does not protect itself; it requires active work and humility. A way of life does not protect itself; it requires discipline and attention

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED TODAY? STEER, DON'T COAST.

Dreams

I think when we grow older we give up on dreaming, we set goals that we feel are attainable so we won’t be disappointed. Well I have dreams that I have set up as goals so I can achieve them.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED TODAY? Don’t stop dreaming!

I love paper

I didn’t learn this today. I love paper. All my life I’ve had a love affair with paper. As a kid I was always the teacher and made up forms and liked grading them, as a teenager I was into everything but paper, but as an adult I love photos, scrapbooking, card making and creating documents. I Like buying paper, I like looking at paper… anything paper… there It’s out!
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED TODAY? It’s ok to love paper.

Purge my stuff

I realize how blessed I am, everytime I purge my stuff. My life has changed and I'm finally at a place in my life that I need less stuff. After my health failed stuff could not help me, it actually got in my way. You have to store stuff. Stuff is not free it cost you money. Stuff is usually a want more than need. Stuff needs to be cleaned. If people see your stuff they sometimes want to steal it. Long ramble short... LESS IS MORE ! Purge some of your stuff...maybe it will help someone who really needs it.

WHAT HAVE I LEARN TODAY? Throw or give some things away.

weight loss

I used to weigh 287 pounds at my heaviest. I now weigh 210. I lost weight because I was sick, between reactions to medicine and food allergies there were a lot of things I could not eat. I had tried to loose weight all of my life. I started in my late teens, I've never been under 180lbs as an adult. Funny how things happen... I lost weight not really trying... ironic. WHAT HAVE I LEARNED TODAY? Things happen at Gods speed ....not yours.

Is beauty skin deep?

I thought I would start with beauty this week...


I've gone thru so many physical changes this year...

weight loss, hair loss, skin rashes, lost of joint flexibility due to RA. Its sometimes hard to keep the right perception of true beauty.

This one of my favorite pictures of me, in this picture I felt beautiful.

The Webster's dictionary defines beauty as:

1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : loveliness

2: a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman

3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality

4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance

How do you define beauty? Do you think you are beautiful? How you perceive other peoples beauty? These are question I had to ask my self this past year. Being sick I received a lot of stares,comments and questions about my appearance. some nice some not. So the next time you see some one how may not look what you feel is beautiful on the outside maybe you will try to see beauty from within.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED TODAY? Beauty is and must always be deeper then skin. I am beautiful!


Below are pictures of my many phases of me being sick. I would not have even thought to post these pictures a year ago... but now I know they are just photos, triumphs over my illness.

Doing to much... maybe?

Hanging out at my favorite online scrapbooking website bigpicturescrapbooking.com
Working on my art skills with Claudine!


Waiting to get started with Donna making some fab fabric creations

I love Shimelle her classes are really afordable and she encourages you to use what you have.

until now I always had to buy...But thanks to the economy I will use what I have.

I have already started on my journal your Christmas album with Shimelle/ December daily album with Ali Edwards this holiday season is going to be STRESS FREE. I know its early to start thinking about Christmas but I always want to do to much and than I'm upset I didn't finish everything I started.

Last but not lest I'm starting a craft club with a few of my friends. We all like to make stuff but there is not really a place that offers a variety of crafts at one place... cards, scrapbooking, sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, gardening, home decor, gift giving, party planning ideas and cooking... that's a lot, but every month we will make a couple of things that we see online or in books that look interesting.

I guess being super busy with multiple projects is the gemini in me! I just want to finish what I start. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

What Happen to Trina

Well it's been 7 months since I last blogged anything. I had surgery on my knee healed from that. My right wrist started to hurt. Thought I had injured it, went to my doctor he did x-rays no injury, said it could be Rheumatoid Arthritis ( RA), I laughed. Test came back positive my RA. In November I was in so much pain I didn't want to get out of bed. I hurt like hell now I couldn't eat what I loved. I could not work.. My doctor put me on Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), was the first med I was on it made me sick, gave hair and skin rash, I lost muscle tone. It didn't help much for pain. So after 3 months, I'm now Methotrexate it makes me not as attentive as normal the day after I take it. I do feel almost pain free. I found out I have food allergies, no sugar, and yeast. There are few other things that I can't eat on a regular basis so just have a taste every once in awhile. Once I figured that out I started exercising. I take arthritis swim classes 2 times a week. They really help! Well I've lost 55 pounds I weigh 226 down from 281.

My family have been my rock thru all of this, Couldn't have done it without them. Thank you… Thank you… Thank you! My kids are doing great enjoying summer break. We have done some fun stuff I'll post pictures later.

So basically I have been fighting my way back to OK. The Workers Comp. people decided I was not able to work as an electrician any more. I don't know if I'll settle for that one. I am being retrained in the IT field as a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) then start Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP). I'm A+ and Network+ certified. So I can repair my own computers… that's a good thing. Going back to school has been hard since my medicines affect my concentration. And being unemployed is hard but I know I'm blessed to be getting a chance at a new career.

On the creative side I have started back doing things I love… scrapbooking, making cards, quilting, blogging, Gardening, home decorating and sewing. I plan to finish my quilts I started right before I became sick. My garden well… It was a little better than last year but I still need to improve my skills. I'll show you later what I mean. I made some invitations for my little sister's Independences day/ house warming party. I joined a cool sewing instruction class to improve my sewing skills.

So I had been trying, meaning to, getting around to posting on my blog and I have done it. Yeah Me!

Grateful

It’s November a month of giving and being grateful for what we are blessed to have. So many people are losing jobs, homes and are hungry this year. I thought I would remind myself how lucky and blessed I am.

So here my list of what I’m grateful for:
1. That I wake up.
2. That God love Me
3. Chantel
4. Jarron
5. Sweets
6. The rest of my family
7. I spend more time with my family
8. Learning to live simpler
9. Edonna
10. Raquel
11. All my other friends
12. IBEW
13. JATC
14. MonaVie
15. I’m going Diamond in 2010
16. My home
17. My health
18. Scrapbooking
19. My December daily/Journal my Christmas album is finished
20. Quilting –something new
21. My blog is holiday cute
22. Thanksgiving is coming
23. We will have a great Thanksgiving dinner
24. I won’t be shopping on black Friday
25. Thanksgiving weekend we put up Christmas decorations
26. My Christmas gifts are close to being finished
27. I’m cutting back my holiday spending this year
28. My dad will be here for the holidays
29. Quel’s PJ Christmas breakfast is coming up
30. That I’m looking forward to the new year

What are you grateful 4?

A long couple of weeks

I fell two weeks ago at work. It's called a contusion- a bruised knee.
sometimes it hurts like hell. Especially when my workers comp. doctor twist and turns it! I'm told it could take 4-6 weeks to heal. LESSON LEARNED don't WAIT. If you get hurt at work report it right away. I reported it but thought I would be OK. I didn't get medical treatment right away. Less than a week later I was in so much pain I was crying like a baby. Now I need physical therapy, but I have to wait to be approved. I have medical insurance if I could have gone to my doctor, I would be in treatment right now.

Which leads to my next statement.... What about those people who have no jobs or worse a job but no medical insurance. I don't get into politics on my blog often but I pray President Obama can get some cooperation from congress to help the masses and no just the wealthy.

My brace I don't know if it helps or not. The white thing-- Icy hot pain patch - that works.

Documented boredom.. thank goodness for project 365. I toke a lot of different pictures while waiting to be seen.

I'm on light duty- LOL there is no light duty in construction!

No paid time off. We make good money because on any given day I could get hurt worse than I was and not home at all. I'm thankful my injury was not severe.

Below are the reasons for my knee injury:

I did the right thing reported holes as soon a I saw them, I reported them numerous times to different safety people and not until after my fall did they cover the holes.

100 Things

This list of 100 Things is floating around on a few of the blogs I read.
The things I've done, I've highlighted in red. Go ahead play along.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Held a praying mantis

9. Climbed a mountain (how big of a mountain??)

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped.

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelos David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48.Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Walked in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published in a book (thank you scrapbooking!)

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100.Read an entire book in one day

your turn...... Have a Peaceful Sunday!

NO SPENDING IN FEBRUARY

I was surfing here the daily digi.com and came across this February is No-Spend Month it stuck a cord, since Friday my older sister called and our conversation went something like this:

my cell phone ringing...

Me: "Hey sister"..looking at the number she called from (work).

my sis:" Whatcha buying?"

me:" are you at the store" looking puzzled because how could she know I'm shopping. I now start looking around. And thinking I see someone who looks like my sis coming in the door of the store in which I was shopping, and may I add my friend Raquel does this to me all the time, we shop at the same places.

my sis: "I'm at work. Did you see the number I called from?"

me: "I did but... " I was way into shopping at this point. Embarrassed I start telling her how my friend Raquel pops up behind me in stores.

my sis: Laughing hysterical...she can't catch her breath.

me: Busted!!! all I can say is... My name Is Trina and I'm a shopaholic.

my sis: Explains when I'm shopping my voice and attention is compromised.

we finish our talk, she thanks me for making her day better. I make my purchase and leave the store.

which leds me to my fate in surfing this morning. I pledge to not spend more than $50 on scrapbook stuff and $100 on entertainment... shopping, movies, eating out, etc...


to make this offical my boyfriend must read it. He keeps me honest. he called me and I asked him to read my blog today. Maybe he will leave a comment.

I'm Intentionally going keep up with my blog this year!

This is a little backwards but who cares its my blog. Yesterday I tried to give my blog a face lift. I found some cute blog designers, but I am not ready to pay just yet. I like doing things myself. So I found a background that was OK, kind of whimsical. Problem is not sure if I like it. Love flowers and patterns as my sister would agree but, this may be to busy even for me. I made my header Love it. So maybe I'll go back to the solid green or cute polka dots if I can find the right color! I'll have that fixed in a couple days.




ALRIGHT..... here goes.... these are my....






INTENTIONS FOR 2009

1. Be present.



2. Keep it simple.



3. Do it now.



4. Seek to understand and accept.



5. Be passionate.



6. Do less.



7. Purge

what does all this mean......

Focus on one thing at a time. No multitasking. Set small time frames to complete each task.

I seem to over complicate simple things. How this happens baffles me it must be a Gemini thing.

I REEEALLLLY procrastinate. Stop thinking, saying and just do it.

People lately have really been getting on my nerves and I fell I'm easy going. I could be wrong. I'll just be quiet and sit still for a while.

This goes back to be present sometimes I'm just here!

Less is more. I try to do to much at once after I finally start. LOL

I have just to much stuff especially scrapbooking supplies. Every month I will purge a room including my garage.

I'll call these my Zen Commandments.

I was here on Ali Eward's blog, intentional is my word for 2009, love her and she was reading this which led me here and here. I'm not into feng shui But anything to help my life for the better I'll try.

Also while trying to give my blog a lift I came across this cool site so I dropped a line with my support as a person in need of dropping a few pounds and as I was telling some of my story realized. What if I just put a little more effort into my own weight loss. I could be FINE by summer time. So thanks Miss Amazeingteacher for the spark.

The crafty stuff I'm doing right now. Trying to finish my daily December album that like a nut I combined with journal your Christmas which was way to much to even think about while working as a foreman and taking care of sick kids. I must have lost my mind! Lucky I had a couple weeks off and I plan to do less. The classes I'm taking right know are A life well crafted by Kollete Hall, Up and running one of three parts, its a self paced digital scrapbooking class By Jessica Sprague and Love myself in 2009 by Ashley Wren. Just like a nut to much.... so no more classes for at lest six months. I think I'll but up a countdown clock tomorrow. Oh I'm doing project 365. I want to post pics to my blog once a week.I actually got up early on New Years Day to order. Only to find out it was to early. LOL. The site was not selling the new kit. I went back to bed and lucky me ordered the kit not knowing all the problems they where having. The site seem a little slow but that was all. Any way Mine is on the way! This project is doable -is this a word? Without all the stuff. I'm a Lover of scrapbook stuff . Did I mention PURGE is on my zen commandments.

In my world as far as photography goes, Santa bought me a cannon power shot, love it. I thanked him personally. I have a Cannon 40D but sometimes its just to much to carry. My old camera a Kodak p850 died in August while I was @NTI in Tennesse. I want to take a photography class at the college or maybe Ritz's camera. My 40D has way more junk on it then my P850.

On the home front all is calm for RIGHT NOW! The kids are back in school yeah! I'll be back at work in a week or so.

Going backwards I want to post all the happenings since August, my last post kinda like a summary to keep the flow of my blog. Well thats, thats, thats all folks!