Where has the time gone?

It's been a while since I've written anything new here. I actually forget I have a blog until I get notifications about it. Life seems to get in the way. Maybe not life itself but the stuff you do to occupy your mind to carry you through to the next day. Then you continue  on with this pattern until you realize just how much time has passed. I'm extremely aware I'm not getting any younger. While people around me dying solidifies this fact. I'm then faced with asking myself, am I happy? Have I achieved the goals I set for myself when I younger and more ambitious? Is it too late to make a change? Self awareness is hard. I think I'll try again tomorrow....



Playlist: Ryan Adams-Ryan Adams
Must listen to track: Am I safe

Till next time....
Michele

At It Again...

So... It's been awhile since I have update my blog but lately I have been inspired to write. I think it's because there have been a lot of changes going on in my life. Some good, some not so. Going forward, I'm going to focus more on the music side of things since it's more of my passion. Till then, keep on playing....


What I'm listening to right now: Jenny Lewis-Voyager
Must spin track: She's not me

Friday night is alright for chillin'

Hi all. Hope all is well. Have to give a shout out to DH, my damn husband, it's his birthday today! He doesn't care but I do. Why is that? Men just assume give up birthdays and holidays then celebrate them; while we insist on doing quite the opposite. Is it because of the first part of the word I used to describe their feelings on the subject in the last sentence? Ass....... Who knows how their minds work. I give up. I let him be a grump and do things my way anyway.

Elijah was a little under the weather from his shots yesterday. I think this is the worst he's ever been after getting them. I felt so sorry for him but there wasn't more I could do to help him then what I was already doing. His fever finally broke about 3 o'clock and he was good to go. Thank god. I can't stand to see him hurting and not being himself. Especially since he cant communicate and tell me exactly what he needs to feel better. It  breaks my heart. On the up side. I got a whole lot of cuddling time in. A rare event now that he can walk and run and go where ever he wishes. He thinks he's a big boy and doesn't need me anymore.

Today was a peaceful day for me. Tonight I managed to finish four really cute cards and I love each one of them. I will upload them for you to see. I'm still waiting for my chocolate to arrive. 4 orders to be exact. Man did I go overboard!!!! Oh well. I love me so scrappy chocolate. Now the scrapbooking stuff I ordered over a month ago still hasn't been sent. Its a different company then the one sending the me chocolate. They said they had an emergency and ask me to be patient (yeah right! me, now way) and I have been but I've about to reach my limit. If it wasn't for the fact they would have to send it through paypal (another battle this week) then I would go ahead and cancel. I'm trying to wait till the 4th and then we'll see what happens then. Ugh. Worst luck.

Anyway, not much going on. I will keep you posted. Comment below if you wish or follow me on pin interest.

till next time.......

Chele


Album of the day "I and Love and you"

Crazy is as crazy does

Hi all. Hope all is well with everyone. It's a crazy little life I have and it's been a crazy few days. I think crazy is my new little word. Crazy.

After the last post where I made my shopping buy. I have gone a little "crazy" and bought a few more things. oops. Oh well. I can't wait for them to get here. Why does the mail have to be so darn slow? I could go out a purchase things at a store but then where's the fun in that? As I told my husband. I like the surprise of finding something other than a bill waiting for me at the mailbox. Who wouldn't?

I did get a mail present two days ago. (mail not male, my husband wouldn't be happy about either but one didn't cost anything and the later wasn't what I got anyway, so not worries) My sister in law mailed me and Elijah a package. He got clothes and a book....boring. And I got scrapbooking stuff and two of those candles that are supposed to clean your ears out. Either I'm really blond or my hearing is really that bad. I don't think I did it right. According to EVERYONE whose ever done this you're supposed to see A LOT of nasty, gooey, yellow crap in the candle stick and that didn't happen with me. Am I the ONLY one who can screw this up? Call me crazy!

Have you ever had one of those times where you think to yourself, "Are we back in High School"? Yeah, I had one of those this week and not in a good way. Crazy!

Do you ever wish that you could follow your heart and not your head and do something you want to do consequences be damn. Yep, I want to do that. I'm sure Kristy understands. Crazy!

Explain to how you know if your heart that you have made the right decision but you question yourself everyday and cry about but there is  nothing you can do? Those in the know, DD is in 17 days, crazy huh? Who'd thought a commercial would make me cry, I know better.

I have spent the last week making and sending Halloween and fall cards to family and friends along with pictures of Elijah in them. Be on the lookout. You probably noticed by now that I changed the picture about to the one of him in the monkey hat, those are the ones I'm sending out, they are my new favorite. They are crazy cute.

So anyone do a crazy count? What am I up to? I'm going to attach some pictures of cards I've made.

Till next time.....

Chele

Song of the day "Crazy" by Patsy Cline

everything comes up fall

Hello all. It's been a while. I have been super busy and have not had time to post anything as of late. To start off I hope all is well with you. My life is crazy right now and getting crazier by the minute but I'm learning to go with the flow.

Those in the know, know the 17 is D day for me. How in the world am I supposed to stop everything for two whole weeks I don't know. It will be impossible. After having Elijah by emergency c-section I had family over for a cookout the same week. I'm not really known for taking it easy or slowing down. Hmmm, guess I'll have to learn as I go.

Next, the doctors believe it is cancer my mom has growing back but wont be sure for another 6 weeks and after they do a PET scan. So now we play the waiting game.

I did the stupidest thing last night. See, I take a sleep aid to help me sleep and last night my son woke me up shortly after I fell asleep. He refused to go back to bed so I was up for a good 3 hours. You know how you hear of people cooking, driving, walking, etc in there sleep? Well, I shop and last night was no exception. I honestly didn't mean to purchase anything but I guess I fell asleep for half a second with my cursor hovered over the "confirm your order" but when I woke up a second later it said "thank you for your order. What!!!!!!!! My husband wanted to kill me. Okay, that's a little harsh but this wasn't the first time it's happened and we are trying really hard to save money and I just spent more money on scrap booking stuff. Not happy. See, he did let me place an order with the company a day earlier so this caused me to pay $8.00 in shipping, again.

So, to try and make things a little smoother I emailed the company a short message that said something like this, "hello. I was wondering if it's possible to combine two orders I placed with your company together. See, I accidentally placed an order early this morning without knowing about it. I take medicine which makes most people sleepwalk but makes me sleep shop. I know this sounds like a crazy excuse but it's really not, just ask my husband. If the orders could be combined and shipping cost refunded I would greatly appreciated. Thank you." It worked. They threw me a bone and are helping me out. Yea!!!

I have also been busy working on making both Halloween and Fall cards. I got 4 layouts done in the last two weeks as well. I will attach. Hope you like. Have a wonderful day and happy fall. My all time favorite time of year!


Chele

Two sides to every story

Hello. How was everyones day? Mine was a crazy, lazy kind of day. It started off by me realizeing I left my car keys in my friends  yesterday and she lives on the Northside. So, when I went to grab them to head out for a delivery I couldn't even get out of the house. Aaron had to run home  from work and give me his keys to use.

After making the run North I found out that my horrible not to be spoken of episode from Easter  has been shared with EVERYONE. There are two sides to every story and it seems that my side is irrelevent. Therefore, I have choosen to cut all negative people out of my life. They are the ones chooseing to be mean, spitefull and rude to me and my son picks up on that. I want him to remain happy and free spirtited. He knows who these people are being negative because he wont let them pick him up; he cries or gives them a mean look.

On another note: those who know my family know that there are some minor to major issues. I wont go into it but tonight was one of those nights where I was reminded AGAIN how low on the todem pole I am. It's amazing how you can be the one to do everythig right but it doesn't matter. It's the one person in the family who does EVERYTHING wrong that get's all the praise. I don't get it. I will never get it. Those who know me, know what I mean. But tonight while speaking with my mother, she let me go because I critizcized my brothers flavor of the week. Come the **** on!!!  Whatever. I'm over it. She can call me when she wants to speak  me.


With the weather changing so are the leaves but that's not all.........so is my husbands attitutude. I really think it's because of the full moon but I named this past weekend "husbands being an ass weekend". Am I alone in this? Let me know.

 My husband was bitching about everything: the cost of diapers, buying toliet paper, me scrapbooking, what's for dinner, etc. REALLY?
 Friends of my had some of the same type of problems with theres.

I did manage to finish two layouts yesterday, and one the day before and I think they look really cute! Also help Step with two of hers. I have mine posted. I hope you like them.

I don't normally ask for prayers but please pray for a friend of mine name Kristy. Without going into great detail just pray that everything goes as it should be and she and her son are kept safe. Love you Kristy!!!

Song of the Day: "The Story" by Brandi Carlile

Here's to hoping tomorrow is better!
Chele

Karma is female and she's a bitch

Hello again. I don't have a whole lot to say today. It has been a rollercoaster ride of a day. The early part of the day was good. I spent the day with Steph and Gigi. I took them to my favorite consignment shop and then showed Steph how to scrapbook a few pages. It was a lot of fun. It's always nice to share your passion with someone else. We were able to get two pages done in about 2 hours. That's pretty good considering we had two babies we were trying to keep up with.

Speaking of which. Elijah is cutting his eye teeth and having a hard time doing so. I feel so bad for him. He has been waking up in the middle of the night crying for me. On the positive side he is wanting to walk independently. Okay, I said walk but it's more like run. The only problem....he's a klutz. He tripped today and hit his head on a toy and busted his lip. Poor thing. But it doesn't stop him. I sold his walker because he doesn't need it anymore.

I got some horrible news today. Actually two pieces but I'll start with the first.... They believe my mother has another tumor in her lung. For those how don't know she has been battling lung cancer for several years now. We are hoping it's just scar tissue from the chemo but we wont know for a few days.

The second set of news is really upsetting. My best friend was supposed to move up here from Georgia but due to some dumbass she's not able to. I wont go into any details but I will ask for you to keep her in your thoughts because she needs it.

I was able to sit down, calm down and do a few pages of scrapping tonight. I have them posted. Hope you like them.

Till next time.....

chele

Soundtrack: Oasis "wonderwall"

Throw it against the wall and see if it will stick

So the last few days have been interesting. I still haven't received my box. Did get ahold of the lady who was to mail it and there was a mix up....she sent my box to a lady in Cali. So, that means all the Hanna Montana stuff I got is hers. We were supposed to mail them to each other priority mail with delivery conformation and be reimbursed by the company. I did as asked and the lady got her box today. How exciting!!
She sent mine snail mail and it's hasn't even made it out of the state of California yet. Maybe my husband is right....she's going to hold onto my box till she gets hers and keep them both. WHAT A MESS.

You would think this would be enough to keep me from buying online but nope.
I must be jinxed because I just keep getting screwed.Onecompany was supppoed to give me 15% off my order because I was new but it didn't happen, I emailed and they said it would happen when it shipped. Still nothing. Now they are looking into it. HELLO!!!!
I ordered through another company twice in two days and you're supposed to be able to combine the orders and pay shipping once. I did everything it said to do and guess what? I got charged twice. Imagaine that! I sent an email. No response. I'm ready to cancel all orders and go old fashion.

I may not get the best deals and the newest greatest things but at least I will get my stuff right then and there and for the correct price.

Wish me luck with all this because I really need all the help I can get.

I have added a few layouts from when we took Elijah to the Apple Orchard. We had a lot of fun. He loves Candy apples a lot. The wagon ride was an trip.He Picked one apple that loooked too tasty and refusted to put it down, he took a bite out of it instead.It was a blast as you can see.

 

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did putting the together. He's my favorite subject.


Song of the day "Rumer Has It" by Adele

Thanks for reading: Chele

Luck or just my life

So, for those who know me know I have a favorite saying..... if it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all. It seems to bring disappointment when I least expect it and stick around for good measure. Today was no exception.

A friend of mine stopped in a scrap booking store that was going out of business on her way to Chicago, and told me about the great deals she had got. I looked and WOW they did have a great deal! 70% everything in the store. So, of course I placed an order. A large order. A little later that same day the owner called to tell me some of the things I wanted were sold out and my total would be different and they were shipping the box to me that day. I said great, no problem.

Then I waited. And waited. And waited. It's very had to wait. I'm not patient by any stretch of the imagination. 18 days later I finally got my box. I was so excited. I thought for sure it was lost in the mail. (it was shipped from Dyer, IN to Indianapolis, IN) I tear into the box only to discover it wasn't mine. It was full of Hanna Montana stamps and ugly paper. Really!!!!! Come on. I waited 18 days for this? And paid way too much for stuff I can't use.

To be honest. I was next to tears. I call up my friend Jenny who recommend these people and we both try to get hold of the store owners. The website is down. The phone goes strait to voicemail. Facebook account isn't updated. Email comes back as bad address. Really I say. Ugh! Finally, I think, white pages. I get lucky. I find the home phone number.

I speak with them and they say it's a switch a roo with the labels and it should be fixed by having us mail the boxes to each other. I really hope it works. My money back is all good and dandy but I really wanted what I bought. 

So, here's to waiting another two weeks to see if I get my stuff. Wish me luck because I could use all I can get.

Has anything like this happened to you? What would you have done? Let me know your thoughts.

Happy thoughts and lucky wishes,


Michele

Some Scrappy pages I've gotten done

I have been on a roll as of late to finish a couple of scrapbooks for my son. I started out strong before he was born and then it tapered off. Now I'm working overtime.

The great thing about waiting those 6 months or more is the fact you get better. Yeah, yeah, I know. If you sit, you're supposed to get worse. But that's not my case. I met a new friend and she has taught me a lot about scrapbooking and introduced me to many new resources I would of never known about. Don't get me wrong, I stumbled upon a lot of these myself. I'm not afraid to buy and try anything once. And I haven't meet a sale I haven't liked. I'm also a blog lurker and you can learn so many new things just by sitting behind a computer surfing. So, all those methods have helped me evolve in my scraping.

But, if you look at pages I have done when "peanut" (what I call my son) was a new baby and the pages now, you can see a major difference in design. I was told I would want to redo the old pages. Uh, no. I don't think so. They are a part of me, my history, my heart and my son. I can't imagine tearing them apart. Would you? Or have you? Am I wrong in wanting to hold onto them as they are?

I have posted a few different pages: one old, the rest newer. Let me know what changes you see. What you like and dislike. I just want to know if I'm alone in this.

p.s. these aren't the greatest pictures because they were taken with a cell phone, sorry.

Happy musical scrapping

Chele

Welcome home



If I'm interesting enough



Hello all. It's been a loooooong while since I've been on here. I have some good reasons though. I have had a baby boy, now 14months old. He is bright, smart, stubborn, active and just too darn cute and always into everything. He's kept me quite busy. Things, they have been a changing.

I have always in the past used the blog to post ramblings about music etc. Now it's going to still have some of that (music is still a big part of my like) but it will be more about my current lifestyle and what I'm doing now. That leans more towards my family, friends and son. So, you will be seeing and hearing stories about them. I will be posting scrap booking pages I have done and would like honest feedback. And some days I will just be venting about my day. Stick around if it sounds like your kind of blog. if you want something added just let me know. See you soon!




create freely-chele

Why Do They Leave

I have come to realize just how much Spring is my favorite season. The weather has been divine. I spent most of the weekend outside on my deck. Ahh... peaceful.

Flowers are blooming, barley breaking the soil. A new life awaits. How wonderful!

Every time I spot a little bit of green pushing the dirt aside it brings back memories of my Grandmother. Most of my flowers, along with my need to dig in the dirt, comes from her. She's been gone for several years now but not forgotten. For every time I kick off my shoes, get on my knees and plant, dig or water my flowers, she appears. Bittersweet memories because truth be told, I would give up every bloom, every burst of color to have her beside me.

Still, it brings me peace. I know that she's there with me and I will forever be grateful for that. I will cherish my flowers, just as I do her.

Yes, Springtime is my favorite time of year.

Till Next Time....

Michele

Soundtrack for this blog:
Keb Mo' "Hand it Over"

To Be Young (Is to be sad, is to be high)

I have an uncanny habit of attaching songs to a particular memory, event and place in my life. While listening to iTunes tonight, I set it to shuffle. Random songs play and take me back. A timeline of my life can be constructed by music.

Case and point...
Whitney Huston "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"- This was the song playing during my 4th grade talent show. I was up on stage lip singing, doing cartwheels in front of the entire school. Great times. I had on a yellow sweater. My hair was crimped and pulled in a side ponytail. I was nervous because a boy I liked was going to be there. The same boy who used a hoolahoop to catch me on the play ground.

Salt n Pepper "Push it"- This was the song that played non-stop those summer nights in GA. All the kids in the complex would gather on the lawn with a boom box blasting this song. We would do our dance, trying to show up one another until our parents yelled for us to come home. Where does that energy and confidence come from? Just wondering where it went....

Milli Villni "Blame It On The Rain"- This would be the song playing at the local YMCA dance on Friday nights. I was nine when I got busted sneaking out to go to it. Granted my brothers were supposed to be watching me and they helped me make arrangements to get there. I had to go, my first "boyfriend" Jacob was going to be there.

Def Leppard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - This was the song that I listened to endlessly with my best friend. It will forever remind me her and the day her family moved back to Denver.

Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror" - Has to be my all time favorite Jackson song. It was playing the day I fell down seven steps backwards. It's okay, I didn't break anything.

Songs remind me of People and places. I attach lyrics to them and hold on tight. They leave an imprint on my mind that will be there when I'm 83, senile. I wont be able to remember who I am but I'll hear the music.

You see how this is going. Some of the most innocent and bittersweet memories are wrapped up in nice package called music.

Till Next Time...
Michele

Chin up, Cheer up

This year was supposed to be a great year but it hasn't gotten off to such a great start. Let me just say that four months in and I feel like I will never be normal. However, I look at my situation and think, it could be worse. It's not just me. I think it's this year in general for everyone. Can it get better? I have to believe that it will, I just have to give it time.

However, with everything that's been going on, it's given me a lot of time to think. About my life, my hopes and my dreams. Where I'm headed and what I can be. Take the title of this blog for example. It would be great if everything went as planned and you could do everything your heart desires. That's not the case. You have to do what you can to keep on living. You have to work, pay the high price gas and continue in robot mode just to make do. But is making do enough?

There are several things I would love to be doing everyday... travel, write and smile. Yes, smile. Seems simple but yet it's a challenge. But like I said, I'm only four months into this year, there is plenty of time for it to improve.

Until next time....

Michele


Soundtrack for this blog.... Cake "Prolonging the Magic" Who doesn't love cake?

Hello Again

Okay, I know it's been forever since I've posted a blog. Originally I used this site for my Journalism class but since then I have abandoned it. The whole idea was to have a website dedicated to music since that is what I'm interested in. I will continue to do that as well as add random thoughts and insight about me and my life. I hope you enjoy.

Michele

Amazing Day... Amazing Music...

Today was a day I will never forget. One of my all-time favorite artists, Josh Rouse, was in town.
I had the most fortunate opportunity to see him perform live in studio at WEEM 97.1 FM. The acoustic set consisted of -- Givin' it up, Quiet Town and It's the nightime.
Simply amazing. I was in complete awe. After getting his autograph on my vinyl copy of Subitulo, I floated off back to work. I was trembling with delight. Here are a few pictures....

Later that night...

I arrived at the Vogue early and was able to get front row seats smack dab in the middle, Josh was within touching distance. I was so close that I could prop my legs up on stage. Needless to say I'm still on cloud nine and will be for days....
This is my favorite show so far...

Till Next Time...

Michele

Americana Roots

I have stumbled upon a cool little website (one I told you about earlier) that includes reviews, news, interviews, podcast and radio streaming. All things Americana.

You have the ability to request songs to played on their radio. The great thing.... by doing so, you can actually help the artist since this radio is a reportable one. How cool is that?

This particular website is packed full of information on Americana. And, if you can get enough, you are able to sign up for a newsletter.

Check it out at http://www.americanaroots.com/content/index.php

Till Next time....

Michele

That time of year....

It's that time of year....

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and music artist are making their rounds. April is just starting and I have 5 concerts lined up. I think the difference this year is the fact that some really great shows are booked to play Indy. In the past, it's always been your run of the mill artist playing the larger/more expensive venues. I'm thrilled to see this is starting to change.

Of the more notable shows:
Neko Case - The Vogue
Josh Rouse- The Vogue
Kings of Leon - The Vogue
Patty Griffin - The Vogue

I'm sure the list will expand as the days wear on. Maybe I'll see you there....

Michele

Americana Home Place

Found another interesting Americana website today. It contains a lot of tabs to explore Americana music further -- a store, online forum and online radio.

I especially like the answer to the question "What is Americana Music".
It reads "This may seem like a simple question, but the answer is anything but simple."

It goes on to explain some of the common characteristics of Americana.

At the bottom of the page there are some quotes from other people about how they define/feel about Americana Music.

Here is the link: http://americanahomeplace.com/WhatIsAmericana.htm

Enjoy! Till next time....
Michele

"OKOM: Our Kind of Music"

I've recently started reading a book by Monte Dutton called "True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed" and it contained a perfect explanation of what Americana is and where it comes from. I believe it summarizes the state of mind behind Americana listeners.


It read:
"Americana isn't a musical form. It's a state of mind. Some of its adherents refer to it simply as OKOM: Our Kind of Music. It's not formulated from marketing surveys, nor is it nurtured in the common commercial environment in which record execs insist on making creative decisions. Fans don't flock to Americana artist because Clear Channel radio tells them to. The music is passed along in smoky pubs and dance halls, by Internet downloads and individual web sites and even, yes, by word of mouth."

I can't wait to dive further into the book. I'll post more.

Michele