Back Online... What a Journey!

Well, life threw us another curve ball. And this one was a doozy! Kathi (my youngest) was struck in mid-September with a severe headache that just wouldn't go away. We thought at first that it was a migraine, but it wasn't. It was accompanied by dizziness, nausea, vision problems, and too many times of her just randomly toppling over. Talk about scary! This went on for weeks, without a single headache-free moment for my girl. They ran every test in the book (some of them more than once), and everything kept coming up normal. This was a GOOD thing, but it was frustrating because we couldn't treat her if we didn't know what she had.

She went into the ER twice in November, and while she was in the hospital the second time they ran even more tests. One was a spinal tap. And guess what -- after the spinal tap, her headache went away for a few hours! Eureka! Her doctors determined that what she has is an excess of cerebral fluid, which causes too much pressure on her brain. The fancy technical name for it is Pseudotumor Cerebri. They gave her a medicine that decreases the fluid, and now she has headaches only once in a while! The headaches she does have these days seem to be stress related (I guess increased stress equals increased pressure for EVERYONE, so this is normal). Whew!! Praise be to God for Kat's doctors and medical team!

She still has vision issues and some tingling, but we're dealing with those with her doctors. The main thing is that her big headache has been relieved!

So, all of this has taken me away from my blogging and stamping and pretty much everything that didn't have to do with Kat's health and my day job (gotta be able to pay for all of this medical stuff, yes?). Sorry for the extended absence. I hope to be back more regularly as things begin to settle down at home. And maybe if I can get Internet at home that would make it even easier. :)

Here's a photo of my Kat, feeling better at long last!


Peace,
Pia

Candy, Candy Everywhere!

A fellow stamper is posting a series entitled, "Wrapping 101" on her blog -- it's a series showing a lot of different ways to wrap candy! How fun is that! In the same vein, here are some past projects that I found hanging out in my computer. Enjoy! And go check out Martha's blog for a whole bunch of cool stuff!

This is a lollipop cover that I made a few years ago. Really simple, so I could mass produce them for our Trick-or-Treat kids! Inside is a caramel apple lollipop. Yum!


Above are little nugget holders. The top photo shows the ones I made for our Trick-or-Treaters, and the bottom photo shows a slight variation for the teens on a weekend retreat. Super simple to make!

Assorted candies in cellophane bags, with stamped tags.


These are boxes I made to fit different candy bars -- Kit Kats and Hershey Bars.

This last one is a simple wrap using decorative paper with stamps and embellishments.

Too much fun stuff! Don't forget to check out Martha's blog! We've got some fun candies on our STAMP YOUR LIFE blog, too, so hop on over there if you wanna see!

Happy Friday,
Pia

Sympathy

Our dear friends lost a dad and grandpa last week. He was 90 years old. This is the sympathy card I made for their family.




No matter the age, it's so hard to lose a loved one. May he rest in peace.

~ Pia

USMC

So my son took his tests for enlistment in the US Marine Corps this past week. He scored a 98 on the qualifying exam and placed in the top 3% on the ASVAB.

His high ASVAB scores give him free choice of pretty much any job he wants, quite a few with hefty sign-on bonuses, so he's quite excited. He passed his physical today, so he will be sworn in on Monday.

He's been talking about joining the Marines since he was pretty young (ha ha, not THAT young... I just really like this pic of us!). While I'm concerned for his safety because of the state of the world right now, I'm so very proud of him for desiring to serve his country (and for scoring so high on his exams!).

Kat's New Look

So my "littlest girl" doesn't look so little anymore... Kat awoke Sunday morning with the desire to cut off her long locks. We were already at the mall after Mass and work, looking for a costume for her (we're having a Cartoon Mania dance at the church and she's going as Pepe Le Pew!), so we stopped in to the salon there and got it done. Wow, what a change!! She's excited and I'm nostalgic. I guess that's how it's supposed to work, right?





My son turned 20 on Saturday. No longer a teenager... I was blessed to catch him right before he left for an evening of celebration with his girlfriend, so I got to hear his voice on the phone! And not just on voicemail, either! I asked him if he got to have his favorite German Chocolate cake, and he told me he hadn't but he got to have three other yummy cakes in its stead. Lucky guy!















I got to see my eldest daughter last month, when her ship was docked in San Diego. What was originally going to be a really brief visit became a full afternoon-to-evening of fun with her and Kat. We got to meet a few of her friends, took a tour of her carrier (the John C. Stennis), and then the girls played bowling. It was a good night.




Oh, and we got a new cat, too! Her name is Pineapple, and she's 6 years old. She's so sweet (and I'm not a cat person!). So far, she spends most of her day up on top of the kitchen cabinets -- way up by the ceiling. She comes down occasionally, when she thinks Bo is otherwise occupied... He wants to play with her but he's so big and she's so small! They're slowly becoming friends, so we have high hopes. :) This is a photo of Pineapple's first morning at our house. She's hiding from Bo!


Wanna see the new card I made this morning? Stop by my other blog: Stamp Your Life to check it out!

Peace,
Pia

RIP George W. Kayo

Sad news... Kat's Grandpa passed away Tuesday night, before she could get there to say her good-bye. She's heartbroken, but she has faith that he heard her in spirit and that he's with Our Lord now. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers.

- Pia

Mother's Day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and were spoiled, pampered, and ....... what else is synonymous with spoiled......? :)

Kat and I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park in the afternoon and then out to dinner with friends. We had such a nice time! Here are some photos of our day.


See those wooden frogs? They're musical instruments! Yep, they're on our list to buy next time we go!






Please keep Kat's Grandpa in your prayers. He had a heart attack late last night and is now in the ICU. She loves him very much, and we're all hoping he gets better real soon.

- Pia