ONE WEEK POST KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY

This last week of my life can only be described as days in a drug-filled haze, cringing every time I had to grab ahold of my walker, struggle to get in an upright position, and try to move about between my chair and the bathroom.  In between all this, I have to go to rehab therapy 3 times a week.  This is definitely not how I had originally planned to spend the Holiday season!

There are so many exciting things happening with Close To My Heart!  I managed to complete my cute snowman Christmas cards before my surgery, so that was one thing I did get accomplished.  Right after Thanksgiving is the first week in December, and for everyone who orders one of the Close To My Heart Cricut Cartridge sets (Art Philosophy, Artiste, Artbooking, or Artfully Sent),  I will send you a stamp set of your choice.  For any order over $50,  I will send you a surprise gift worth at least $10-15.  You can do some really great Christmas gift shopping out of the Seasonal Expressions catalog, from which you can start ordering on Dec. 1st.  Is there any reason you can't do a lot of shopping from my CTMH website?  People love to craft - introduce your friends to something new with a cute stamp set and some pretty inks.  The possibilities are endless!   Please make my Christmas by shopping from my website.  Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!
Judy Goodson, Close To My Heart Consultant
http://justamidnightcropper.ctmh.com

PLEASE COME TO MY ON LINE GATHERING!

Come one and all and visit my " Close To Amy Heart" on line gathering to celebrate my becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant.  The more I've learned about  their products, the more I am impressed with the quality and ease of use of all the papers, stamps, inks,and other fun toys that they carry.  I am holding an on line gathering and inviting everyone to go to my website at:  http://justamidnightcropper.ctmh.com.  You can either go through the shop on your own, or you can click on the link that says "Judy's Gathering" and it'll take you right to the catalog pages.  Feel free to browse all you want.  Remember, it's free to browse - no obligation- but you just might find something that you'd really like to have.  Thanks so much.  Love to all, Judy

WHAT DO YOU GET THE WOMAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING FOR HER BIRTHDAY?

My oldest daughter's birthday is 2 days before Thanksgiving, and I haven't the foggiest idea what to buy her for her birthday.  She already has everything anyone could possibly want, and her taste in jewelry is expensive and personal.  Does anyone have any good ideas for a 44 year old woman with a great career and a wonderful husband and young son - other than a day at a spa away from it all.  She will be arriving in town for Thanksgiving on her birthday, so I want to get her something special and personal, but, for the life of me, I don't know what.  I have gone to the mall, and nothing jumped out at me.  If I don't get any good suggestions, I'll have to go back to the mall and try again.  Ugh!!  I hate to go to the mall at this time of year, don't you?  It's such a Christmas madhouse already.  I usually do all my shopping online, but now I've waited too long and time's a wastin".  I guess I'll put my thinking cap on and go out for lunch - maybe that'll help.  If you have any suggestions, leave comments below, PLEASE!

I AM A NEW WOMAN!

Today Laura (my daughter) and I went out for a day of beauty and shopping.  We both got our hair cut and styled at 10:00 A.M., then went to lunch, and then after that we went shopping.  I bought my husband a couple of nice fishing shirts and a really neat discounted lightweight fleece jacket that I hope he loves.  Then I bought myself a pair of new shoes.  It felt good to get out in this beautiful weather.  However, in three days I will be heading back to Tennessee and the cold weather.  Laura is feeling pretty good now, so she really doesn't need me too much - except to pick things up off the floor, and she ets her drains out tomorrow. I'm glad in one way an sad in another.  On a good note, we've about gotten rid of all the lasagna and are cooking for ourselves again. 

OUR LATE CHRISTMAS

Today we are celebrating our late Christmas with our daughters and their families.  The had all wanted to have Christmas morning with their families at home, so they decided to travel to see us the next day.  Our daughter that lives in Florida arrived really late last night because their plane had been delayed due to the storm up in the northeast.  However, the family from Nashville drove over and made it quite nicely - even though they had to drive through some snow showers on the Cumberland Plateau.  By the time we all got together, it was after 9:00 at night, and the kids were wild and crazy.  It was after 12:00 midnight when we gto them to bed.  The Nashville bunch stayed at my sister's house in town. 

      This morning we all get up to eat sausage balls sweet rolls and honey baked ham while we merrily opened Christmas presents.  A good time was had by all!  I got a New Wave oven, so tomorrow I'm goinng to try my hand at cooking a turkey breast in it.

      This afternoon everyone went shopping at our local mall, but I was a party pooper and stayed home to watch all the kiddoes.  That's fine with me!  All in all, it was a fun day.

SO GLAD SURGERY IS OVER!

I made it through my surgery just fine, and now I'm hobbling around the house like a trooper - going from the couch, to the chair and then to the bed.  I can't even take a shower until tomorrow.  Yuk!!  All my muscles in my back and right leg are sore from limping and favoring the left leg.  That makes me more miserable than anything else.  I still haven't completed my Christmas shopping or even started my Christmas cards.  I guess I'll get busy on those tomorrow and do all my shopping on line.  It's so easy.

SHOPPING WITH MY DAUGHTER GETS EXPENSIVE!!

We've been in Jupiter, Florida, since the day before Thanksgiving, and I've been shopping with Laura, my oldest daughter, every day except one.  She loves to shop for bargains on jewlery, and we really hit the "mother lode" in one pawn shop.  I got caught up in the buying spree too, and I bought a beautiful, hand-tooled turquoise and silver ring that I just love!  She, however, went berserk and spent a lot more money than I did.  I can't even begin to tell you what she bought, but it was mostly rings, and one solid gold Noah's Ark bracelet that was so beautiful.  She has a special charge card that she puts all her jewelry purchases on.  I wonder why she does that - Ha!!

I must admit that I have really had a good time with the shopping - puts me right in the Christmas spirit.  We saw two good movies this week too - "Lincoln", which was great because of the wonderful acting, and then today we went to "Breaking Dawn, Part II".  Both of us have read the "Twilight" books, so we were excited about seeing the last film.  It was the best one, I think.  We will be going back home on Thursday, the 29th, so I'll keep in touch.

OH NO!! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!

This afternoon I discovered another little newly hatched baby finch on the floor of the aviary - alive.  All I could think was, oh no, here we go again!  I don't want to go through the heartbreak of loosing baby finches again!  At least I won't be going away until Thanksgiving, so I can try to raise this one, or any more that hit the bottom of the cage.  I really believe I can do it, and I am certainly going to give it a try.  I won't give up on this little fellow (or girl), but I know that the odds are against me. 

On a happy note, I heard from my husband tonight, and he's on his way home.  I expect him home in time for supper tomorrow.  In the meantime, I'm busy burning all the boxes from the things I've bought on HSN while he's been gone.  Heee Heee!!  I just couldn't resist.  This week it was free S & H.  How can I let that pass me by?

WELL, I'M TIRED OF BEING BY MYSELF NOW.

I've been here by myself for the past 6 days, and now I'm ready for my husband to come home from his hunting trip.  I've crafted to my heart's content, done some serious shopping on HSN, but now I'm just plain lonesome for my hubby.  I've talked to him 3 or 4 times, and he's having a good time in South Dakota.  I hope he doesn't bring any pheasants back home, though, because I don't like to cook them.  He brought a bunch of feathers back last year for someone who wanted to use them in a wreath, but I'm not much into wreath making.  He even had a pheasant hat made for his mother once - pillbox style, which was in fashion at the time, but she never wore it because she wasn't much of a hat person.  So now it sits in it's original hat box in our living room, preserved in perfect condition.  Anyone want a lovely vintage pheasant hat??

I went to Hobby Lobby tonight to buy some paper and a couple of stamps to make my Christmas cards this year.  I'm going to keep them simple, so I can actually get them done in time.  I managed to make my cards last year, so I think I can do it again this year.  We're going to Florida for Thanksgiving, and I'm looking foreward to that.

I'm watching the movie "Broke Back Mountain" while I'm writing this.  It's one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen.  Heath Ledger was so good in that.  What a loss to the movie business his death was.

MY SABATICAL IS COMING TO AN END

I'm sad to say that tomorrow is my last day here in sunny Florida.  I have had a great time, and the weather has been beautiful - such a nice break from the winter doldrums in Tennessee this time of year.  I went to a very off-color play named "Divorce, the Musical", which was written by the same people who wrote "Menopause, the Musical".  I must say,  I really couldn't relate to the divorce problems too well, as I have not gone through it, but the songs were too risque' for my taste.  Some women were just rolling in the aisles laughing, though.  I have done quite a bit of shopping, so my suitcase is going to be crammed full for my trip home.  Have totally enjoyed being with my daughter and her family.  Cade, the little 6 year old is all chatter, but so cute!  I will miss them all.  My sister, Janet, will be going home to Tennessee with me for 2 weeks, so that'll be nice.  Then...... back to my scrapbooking and fun stuff.

WENT TO MICHAELS TODAY!!

With my heart racing and my cheeks flushed, I drove to Michaels in Knoxville today.  All I was looking for was some mini glue sticks and some of Michaels black envelopes.  I came away with over $150 worth of stuff.  Instead of the mini-glue sticks, I bought a whole new glue gun!  I did buy the black envelopes, but I also bought a scallop punch from Friskars (I had left my other one in Florida), Kraft paper, black paper, DCWV  stack "Glam Gal" (or something similiar to that), a Martha Stewart exacto knife with new blades, a decorated chipboard antique-looking book to store one of my mini-albums in, and a decorative vase with those "crystals" full of water to put my cut hydrangeas in.  Oh, yes, I also bought a People magazine to find out why Jennifer Lopez and her husband broke up, but I can't find that.  It might still be out in the car.  Oh, I do love to shop!!  I also just remembered that there's a package outside my front door that I need to go bring in.  Hold on......I'll go get it......Oh, goodie, it's my Paper Layerz from Megan Elizabth at Above Rubies Studio.com!  If you don't know what Paper Layerz is - go to Paperlayerz.com.  It's great paper for all Cricut owners.  Gotta go start cutting and pasting.  Bye for now.