Where have I been.... and what have I been doing?

Hey everyone.. I'm here, You may have wondered (or you may not have... but I'll tell you anyway) why I haven't been blogging. As you all know, Gram passed away New Years morning and since then I had zero creative spirit, zero mojo, zero energy to stamp.... zero zero zero... I still had a love for stamping, still filled my stamp room with new stamps, accessories and fun do-dad's, but when I sat down to stamp I was blank.

Last weekend I attended the Remarkable Stampers Safari Retreat in southern PA for an entire weekend of stamping and comrodery. I had a blast, met some wonderful stampers, cuddled with the most adorable baby on earth and re-found my creative inner spirit. So now I'm back. Different than I was before, wiser, I think funnier and definitely skinnier. Here I was..... the fall of '07....

And this was me just last weekend.

Some days my brain still has yet to catch up with my new body. I feel wonderful and most days I feel like an entirely different person. But some days I still feel like the old me. When I walk by a mirror I usually have to do a double take because I don't recognize myself.

So what else have I been up to. Well, as most of you know I have a soft spot in my heart for animals, especially those that well, are not perfect. We have Oreo our deaf dalmatian who was beaten and abused as a puppy and had her tail broken.

Carter who was from a dalmatian rescue in PA who is Oreo's ears and mama's little buddy. AND........ WELL...... now.... I guess you'll have to see for yourself.......

Meet Isabella..... formerly Patty... But Patty isn't a Princess name.. Isabella is a 5 year old cocker spaniel who spent the first 5 years of her life in a 'puppy mill' cage in TN mak'in babies. A local cocker rescue was looking for a foster family that could spend the time with her to teach her how to be a puppy. Since I work from home and have Carter & Oreo I said, we could do it. So here she came... When we got her a few months ago she knew nothing... she didn't know what grass was, wasn't potty trained (as a matter of fact when she arrived at the rescue her paws were so encrusted with feces and urine that the vet had to soak them to get it off), didn't know how to go up and down stairs, all she knew was the inside of her small confined cage. OMG has she learned what the good life is.

This is now how Princess Isabella spends her days while mama is at the 'puter working.... lying in the cushy recliner in front of the air conditioner.

Here she is snuggling with Oreo. Puppy Mill puppies feel more comfortable being confined... so she loves to sleep under the spiral staircase next to my desk. Oreo has taken to sleeping there too.... so now the two of them snuggle up together and sleep their days away.

Now don't get me wrong, it hasn't been as 'easy' as I make it out to be. Carter had his nose bent a little and wandered around acting like no one loved him anymore and wanted nothing to do with Bella.... But now, they love each other. Carter has been teaching Bella his bold tricks.... Like they are here.... begging for da'da's popcorn....

And if this wasn't luck.. here it is actually caught on camera..... Carter kissing Bella... And he says he doesn't like her... LOL

So where do I go from here........ How will my stamping be different? Last weekend I came to realize that part of the reason why I haven't stamped is because cards just got too boring. Unless I needed a card for a special occasion what would I ever do with the 100's of cards I already have in my stamp room? I have a new 'energized' stamping focus... thanks to my roomie Nicole and Chloe.. My creative spirit will now be focused outside that stamping box. What can I do with everything I've been hording in my stamp room... All those stamps, the piles of cardstock, those sizzix dies that have been collecting dust..... and espicially those little accessory do-dad's and do-hickies that are shoved in the plastic containers on my shelves. They probably won't find themselves being made into cards, but I can guarantee to you that I'm going to find a fun, decorative way to use them.....

So stay tuned and keep watching for fun new ideas from me....