Whispering Woodlands

This past Sunday, I drove out to Verona, WI all by my self. I went to Whispering Woodlands for the Twirly Swirly Journal workshop with Ingrid Dijkers. It only took me two and a half hours to get there and I didn't get lost!

I met some great women and had a wonderful day playing and creating. It was very scenic and tranquil out in Verona, and Jackie's place was really cool!

Jackie's house is a dome and the entire lower level is dedicated to Whispering Woodlands. She has different instructors scheduled throughout the year to teach various mediums.

The class was small and I enjoyed the intimacy. I really loved talking with Ingrid about how she binds her books and the materials she uses. She demonstrated her process of putting a page together, and I find it interesting how we all attack a blank page differently.

This is the journal I put together. I'm really loving the construction of the book and I really want to bind more. We used a dremel to make the holes and I liked this WAAAAYYY better than using an awl.

See the elephants on the front cover? I bought an entire piece of scrapbooking paper just because I liked the image of the elephants! Crazy??? Ingrid and Jackie validated my purchase which led me to go back the other day and buy 4 more sheets of the same paper for when I want it again! The day definitely inspired me and I bought some of Ingrid's cool collage sheets! I'm not sure what I will do with the Steampunk images, but I'm sure something will emerge.

Next Saturday is my BIG, BIG, BIG Birthday! I can't believe it. Every day it seems as if time is just zooming by. My husband has insisted on having a party for all of our friends to celebrate this milestone. I'll keep you posted!

One month out

I can't believe it's already been 1 month since my surgery! Every day I am feeling better and PT is going well. My therapist kicks my ass 2x a week, but my goal is to be able to start working out again by June. I can already bend 10 degrees back. When I started 3 weeks ago, I couldn't bend at all! When I started, I could bend 30 degrees forward and now I can bend 70! Such excitement.

I was just given permission to start driving again - but only short jaunts! At least I'm not a prisoner anymore. My friends were fantastic, but I like having my independence without relying on anyone. I'm not good at asking for help.

Life has been busy even though I was out of commission for what seems like forever. My son turned 9, my husband also had a birthday and my daughter woke up last Saturday and decided she would finally learn to ride her bike without training wheels. Guess what? She did it! It just goes to show that when they are ready to do something, they will. Her older friend spent some time teaching her what to do and it was amazing to see! I am so proud of both girls.

Now that I can sit a little longer, I have been playing a little. I'm still feeling blocked but I know I have to keep plugging away to break through.

I'm thinking of adopting another Havanese! I have a call in to the rescue organization. We found a little girl that is so cute and I think it is important for Max to have a sibling since we don't know how much longer Flash will be with us.