Some Excitement!!

The store, "Not Just Scrap", that I design for was asked to sponsor a really awesome exhibit at the Northport Historical Society Museum!! Diana called awhile back and asked if it would be okay to use my layout of Terry's Mom and Dad with the Prima stuff for the exhibit!! Needless to say I was on cloud 9 and said yes!! I am so happy for Diana that her store was asked to sponsor this awesome exhibit!! I mean, seriously, how cool is that!!?!! I hope to get the chance to go and see it sometime this summer! If you live on Long Island and are a scrapbooker you should definitely check it out! What an awesome opportunity to see how others throughout history have documented their memories!! The exhibit will run from now till the end of August. Here is the flyer: To see a layout of mine on exhibit is just mind blowing to me and such an honor too! Thank you Diana!! As always thank you for stopping by my little home on the web!! Tracy

Something I Feel Strongly About!

Hi everyone!! Today I am stopping in to bring some awareness to a person and cause that I truly believe in and feel very strongly about! It is Bernie Berlin and the unbelievable awesome work that this girl and her "A Place To Bark" do! If you know me you know how much I love all the wonderful furry, scaly, slippery, soft, cuddly, etc. creatures that exist on our planet and how they all deserve the right to a life of quality where they can exist in a safe and loving planet earth! Well, Bernie is a person with very similar beliefs and dreams!! Love that about her so much!! She has been able to make a dream of hers (& one that I share and have always wanted to be able to do) come true for her doing what she loves and also what needs to be done! So, please take a moment and check out her site at www.aplacetobark.com and her blog http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com and help her out in anyway that you can even if it is just spreading the word about her work! I have also included a badge on the right side of this page to help spread the word. Okay, I am down off my soapbox for now and thought I would finally share the finished layout that I have done for "Not Just Scrap". Here it is: Ok I am sitting her looking at this photo of this layout and am not too happy with it so I will try to take another pic soon and post it because this one does not do it justice! Sorry!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing a moment with me in my world!! {{{{HUGS}}}} Tracy

I am a Great Auntie again!!!

I am just so stinkin' excited!!! My Niece Shelbie and her hubby Chad welcomed a bran new baby girl into the world last night!! She was born at 10:43pm weighing 7lbs 2.5oz and is 19.5" long!! They have named her Tava Louise!! She is just gorgeous and I am not just saying that cause I'm the Auntie!! Lol!! Here is a quick pic of her that Chad took with his cell phone last night so that I could see her so sorry it is dark and blurry a little but you can still see her gorgeousness!! Hubby and I are also her God-Parents!! Welcome to the great big wonderful world my sweet little angel!! I can't wait to hold you in my arms!! Congrats little Domenic, you are now a big brother!! And you will be an awesome big brother my little man!! Love you!! Thanks for stoppin' by!!, Tracy

First post of 2010!!

Wow, it is a New Year and so far so good I must say!! I am so glad to see 2009 in the rear-view mirror!! It was such a rough year for so many including me! So good-bye 2009 and welcome 2010!!! I am just sitting here reminiscing about all the huge life changing moments of last year and how they have affected me and those I love. I thought I would finally start sharing more photos so today the photos are some of those I took last year during some of those moments!! This first set of photos is at my hubby's Change of Command which took place just before the big move east when things really started to change and fast. This first pic is of my man during the ceremony when Captain Bruce Jones (Terry's boss) is giving his speech and mentioned that we had just gone through the horrific loss of Terry's Mom. It just broke my heart to see the pain in his eyes that day! He was stronger that day then I have ever seen him be! During Terry's ceremony when it was his turn to give his speech and say his goodbyes to his station and talk about his time there he made a very special presentation to his Dad! If you are from Wisconsin or a Packer Fan then you know how special this presentation was for Terry and his Dad! Terry wanted to let his Dad know how much he loved him and how much he thanked him for being the best Dad ever! Another tearful moment was had by me of course but I was still able to snap the pic! Just after the ceremony I wanted a pic of Terry, Dad, & Peter (Terry's brother) before they had to head out for home since it was the last time we would get to see them for awhile. We had an extra special little guest at the Change of Command that was the best little guy ever (he didn't fuss or cry the whole time!!) our God-Son Domenic!! They also drove the 2 1/2 hours down so they could be there for Terry's special day!! It meant the world to us!! Alot of very special people came to be with us including Terry's older brother Kevin and his wife Sue, their daughter Kayla, my sister Bobbie, my niece Shelbie (Dom's Mommy), my Mom, my BFF Amy, our Aunt Margaret and Uncle Lee, tons of friends from the Auxillary, Ta-may and Gui (our landlords), and the list goes on and on! All of their support was so greatly appreciated and felt that day!! Without all of you in our lives I don't think we could have made it through! Hmmm....I guess my explanation for these 2 photos is I just couldn't help myself! Lol!! He just looked so handsome!! Swoon!! And then of course there was cake and I just had to take a picture of that being the snap happy scrapbooker that I am!! Lol!! This next pic is of our little baby boy Gizmo on the day that we loaded up the truck and emptied out the house for the move!! Needless to say he was not a happy camper!! He just sat in my studio looking through the loft railing at everybody hauling all our stuff away!! Even though he is a good little Coastie and handles the moving so well this last time he really had a hard time with it!! Poor little guy!! Looking at this photo reminded me of how hard he took it!! Now this next photo you will have to excuse the blurriness since it is a photo taken with the computer while skyping with my buddy Kim!! As soon as I could get my internet hooked up and the computer up and running I was on it getting re-connected with my best buddy Kim!! This pic was taken the 4rth day that we were in our new home on Long Island in my basement studio with tons of boxes and unpacking to do all around me but I had to skype dang-it!! Priorities!! Gizmo and I needed the contact so bad!! Thank you Kim for being there for us!! I can't even begin to tell you how much our skyping time with Kim made all the difference in the world!!! Love you Girl!! You helped to bring a little piece of home out to me through the awesome power of the internet and gave so freely of your precious time when I was so down and lost!! Thank you!! Here is a card that I finished during one of our scrappy skype therapy sessions!! Okay, enough of the last years photos for now! Lol!! I will keep throwing in some as the mood hits me!! Now on to a sneak peek of a layout I am working on when time permits for "Not Just Scrap". The title is going to be "A Mother's Love"..... I still have a ways to go before it will be finished, but, as soon as it is I will post pics of it. Oh, and notice that grey thing that the layout is on top of?! I couldn't help myself and just had to get it!! It is a F.R.E.D.!! If you have never heard of it you can check it out here http://www.myscrappingbuddy.com/ !! Love this thing so much that I got 2!! I can not believe how much it is helping me out with my neck and back pain that I had been suffering from for the last couple of years when I scrapbook and create!! Love it!! Here is a pic of mine without the layout on it.... Wowzers!! I have definitely "chewed your ear off" long enough for today! LOL!! So on that note I will say bye for now and thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!! Tracy

WARNING!! Long Post Alert!!

I am posting today to finish up where I left off on the last post even though I am sicky again and this time really sicky!! YUCK!! I am tired of every bug in town thinking it has to come visit again and again! Tired and achy is how we roll around here evidently! Ok, enough of that because I am sure you all out there are fighting the battle of the bug in one form or another as we speak. I digress so easily it seems. Any way here is where I left off. The pic of the so called box (train case or Travis Case) is by B.E./Creative Imaginations. I altered it with a little victorian flare of my own for my new DT position with an amazing store here on Long Island called "Not Just Scrap"! The owner of the store is Diana and she is an amazing artist and super nice gal with a huge heart! I have posted a link on my right side bar to her blog for the store and I believe from there you can get to her main site as well. I believe she is moving towards getting her site up and running for internet sales in the future. She has been in business here on LI for 5 years and has done an amazing job of making her store feel like home! When you walk in you immediately feel that peaceful "I'm home" feeling along with a great big "Hi! How are ya?" from Diana in the most amazing NY accent in the world! Little chuckle here because they think I have a "cute" accent from the midwest! Lol!! I will take cute yes I will! I seriously love New Yorkers and their accent the most though because it is so full of meaning when they speak, straight from their hearts is what I like to say it sounds like. So, there you have it, my little bit of happiness in an otherwise scrapless world around me!! I am so fortunate to have found Diana and her store! Here are some more pics of the box/case, a layout, and a mini-peak: The layout is a Prima one and I got my inspiration from one that the amazing and uber talented Cari Fennell did as a dt layout for Prima! Diana wanted something very similar to help customers see how to cluster Prima flowers together with some bling. Here is the gorgeous layout by Cari that Diana wanted me to go from : See! I told you her work is gorgeous!! And if you haven't visited her blog yet you definitely need to check her out!! Here is her blog address: www.meandmymaryjanes.blogspot.com . So please check her out because you will definitely be inspired!! Oh, and don't forget to show her some love!! Ok, now that I am done with all the pics I will fill you in on what has happened in life since I left Wisconsin. My niece Shelbie got married right before we left for New York so we were able to be there and we are so proud of her. I love her like she were my own child!! We had a huge garage sale and sold most of our earthly belongings so that we wouldn't have to pack too much stuff (side note: still had way to much stuff!!) since this was the first time in 23 years we decided to do the move ourselves!! Never again I tell ya never again and if I should happen to mention that we are please shoot me on the spot!! Lol!! I drove the car to Long Island and Terry drove the moving truck! Talk about stressfull!! Aghhh!! So glad that part is over!! Then we had Terry's change of command out here and he took over running his new station down on Jones Beach! Gorgeous area!! We settled into our new home with out any living room furniture until a about a month ago! Didn't think that would be such a big deal but let me tell you it was!! Definitely delayed the getting settled feeling for awhile! I tried to get settled into my new studio which is down in the finished basement here. Not so easily said and done I tell you!! I have way too much stuff! Let me repeat that WAY TOO MUCH!! Not enough room!! Still, on this very day, I am unpacking and trying to get it finished when time permits!! UGH!! Not happening as fast as I need it to! Then on a very sad note we lost Terry's Mom...that was one of the hardest most difficult things ever! Love you Mom and miss you tons!! It cames as a super hard hit for us and I am so proud of Terry. He stayed with her until the end! Dad and Peter are by themselves now and I must say they are doing really well considering how hard this has been on them and the whole family. Terry has been making trips back and forth to help out and support them as much as he can. Next on the list of goings on is that my Mom came to live with us full time back in July and this is where things got even harder! She was diagnosed back last year, after having 2 heart attacks, with Dimentia. The hardest part is that since she has gotten here my Mom as I knew her is almost completely gone due to this horrible disease! She peaks out at me once in a very great while and on those days the suns shines so brightly with her smile! This is why I have lost all of my bearings in life and have gone through such a dark time. It is so very hard to see a loved one go through what she is having to go through. It is not fair for the person who has this in any way shape or form and I know unfortunately that thousands and thousands of people are going through this as we speak! Why don't we have a cure or a way to stop this from happening yet with all the advances in medicine that we have? It is not an easy thing to be the caregiver of a loved one who has this as I know all too well but to be the person with it is just horrible. My life and every thought (sleeping and awake) is for her and her safety and wellbeing. So, my friends this is the number one reason of them all that I am so far behind on keeping in touch and life in general! I just thank you all so much for your support and prayers that keep coming our way! She has been fighting off this yucky bug that has been going around for awhile now and is starting to show signs of improvement which is a blessing for her and me. She is starting to get better sleep at night and not coughing the night away. If any of you know about Dimentia or Alzheimers you know that the patient can also suffer from what they call Sun-Downers which put to put it easily means that once the sun starts to set in the sky that is the time that a person suffering from dimentia has the worst time of all. Mom unfortunately has this so the nights are awful for her and needless to say we don't get much sleep. For Mom that is the time when her mind struggles with why can't I remember and worries if everyone and everything is taken care of. She will wonder the house at night endlessly searching through cupboards and closest for something that she can't remember what it is. It just breaks my heart to see her have to go through this and of course with the coughing the doctor said she has got a double whamy of bad at night right now. Not much sleeping going on at the Lathrop household! So, please forgive me if I haven't responded to your posts or emails right away or even after awhile, I am trying my dangedest to get this so called life in shape and functioning as best as I can with a little help from my friends. I may just burst into song now that I started it cause you all know we can't get by without a little help from our friends!! Lol!! We see the Dr. again on Monday so wish us some luck! Lord knows we need it! This is another reason Dianna at "Not Just Scrap" is such a God send!! She has the patience of a saint when it comes to my DT work! Thank you for that Diana! Cause you all know that when Tracy hasn't gotten crafty in awhile she isn't a happy camper and needs her fix of studio time which right now isn't a whole lot! As always, my dear readers, thank you for stopping by and putting up with my long tirades!! Lol!!, Tracy

Cob Webs!!!!

Wow, there sure are alot of cob webs on this blog!! I am here for the first time since the move which happened 5 months ago now trying to get things up and running again! I am just amazed at how much time has gone by since the last time I posted!! Well, we are here on Long Island and finally all unpacked and starting to make our new home a place where we can feel at home. That is the part that is taking me the longest (feeling at home here). I miss everyone back in the midwest so much that I have gone through a very dark period in my life with this move. I wish I could say that after 23 years in this military life with my hubby that moving was a piece of cake and that we could do it without any saddness but that just is not the case! I know alot of people tend to think that the life of a military spouse is always full of new exciting adventures and making new friends, etc.. But, I am here to tell you that it is not all that all the time! Lol!! I don't know if it is my age or this specific time in my life or all the wonderful people that have come in to my life during our last port of call that has made this the hardest one ever for me or what. Maybe I am on an extremely long pms haul or some sort of mental break down or ughh....... something just isn't the same this time!! I sat down today and looked at the calendar on my desk just stunned! So much time has passed and I have nothing to show for it, no great accomplishments, nothing...nada...zilch. Life has swallowed me whole! So, needless to say today is the "wake up and smell the roses (or coffee! lol!)" day for me!! Today is the day that I am grabbing life by the horns again, putting on my high heels, filling my tool belt with the neccesities and taking a ride back on the journey bus to MY LIFE! (I can almost just barely hear the crowd cheering "you can do it"!) I am no longer in stand still mode I am now in "full speed ahead baby" mode!! So, if you are one of my many awesome friends who has emailed me and not heard back from me I am here to officially tell you that I do not have any excuses to give you, but, I can tell you that soon my friend, real soon, I will be in touch some way some how!! I am not dead I just fell off the earth for a couple of spins and now I am back!! So, on that note, since I have already bored you to death with my troubles such as they may be, I will now leave you with a pic of a little something that I made for a little something I am doing....is that vague enough for ya! Lol!! Next post will have more pics and some deets on what I am talking about! As always...Thanks for stoppin' in! You truly mean the world to me!!, Tracy

Long Time No Bloggy!!

The stress of the big move has defintely gotten me finally and I swore it wouldn't but unfortunately I have to be honest!! UGHHHHHH!! or maybe it's AAAGGGGHHHHHH!! I have been working on some crafty things inbetween packing (oh yeah I didn't tell you that hubby decided we were going to pack ourselves!!) keeping the house somewhat organized and clean along with all the other day to day things! I managed to finish the layout I was working on of my inlaws, Mom and Dad Lathrop, so without further ado here it is!! Also finished my niece's 90 some wedding invitations and the hubby's 120 change of command invitations! Can't find the pic of my niece's wedding invitations but once I do (who knows when that will be! Lol!!) I will post it! I have been taking some time to smell the roses persay or I would not be able to stay sane at this time!! Tomorrow I am meeting my awesome good friend Kim at Hannah's with Mom and we are going to spend the day scrapping or crafting or whatever we wind up doing!! Lol!! Another much needed rose smelling trip I say!! Then on Monday I am going to my favorite store in the whole wide world Craft Fancy in Arlington Heights IL!! Awesome store and of course my awesome friend Simone owns it along with Carol and they are awesome so if you get the time check them out because they are definitely well worth the trip! So anyway, on Monday I am taking the Amuse card class taught by the wonderfully talented Simone!! Another fun day I think!! Mom is going to and loves to make cards especially when they are taught by one of her favorite people..... Simone!! Lol!! Mom just loves her!! Ok, now I think I better get my hinder in bed for some much needed rest if you know what I mean!! Lol!! Thanks for stoppin' by!!, Tracy

First Time Using My Webcam!

Just a little scarry don't ya think!! Yes, Kim I did finally figure it out and now I know how and we can SKYPE!! Yay!! Lol!!

Mom is on Hannah's DT Blog

My sweet Mom was the Queen of the Crop at Friday nights crop last weekend!! And they took her pic wearing her favorite color in the whole world....Purple!! Here is the pic that is over on the blog: Such a pretty picture of her!! Thanks Jill and Hannah's for making Mom feel like a Queen even if it was only for one night! Lol!! She definitely loved it!! Thanks for stoppin' by, Tracy

SIStv Crop was a Blast!!!

This last Saturday was the last SIS crop I will probably get to attend here before the move and let me tell you....we had a blast!! It was held at Craft Fancy as always (love that place!!) and almost all of the local Sis girls were there!! I did not get much done as usual because I was too busy enjoying the company and eating Cricket's awesome brownies!! The Girl can bake I tell you!! I did finish the layout I started to work on at the crop of my DH and his calf Petunia or Daisy not sure which! Lol!! I used February's kit from Kenner Road and had a fun time working with the vintage goodness that come in KL's kits!! She totally knows how to rock the vintage!! Ok, here it is: And then I have to tell you about these awesome little stamps that Craft Fancy sells! Amuse is the name of the company and if you haven't checked these cuties out you definitely need to!! I finally broke down and allowed myself to buy 3 of them and have 2 more on order!!! I have been fighting it for so long for the simple fact that I have too many stamps but let me tell you this Girl can not have too many Amuse stamps!! No siree she can't!! I have a feeling this is my new addiction!! Shhhh!! Don't tell the hubby!! LOL!! I will take pics of the cuties stamps I got and post them tomorrow along with pics of my nieces wedding invites I did. Thanks for stoppin' by!! Tracy