a few more pics

thought I might post a few more pictures from our trip.




This is of Favre coming out of the tunnel. Can I just say one more time how much I love our camera? LOVE the zoom on that puppy. The tunnel that the players come out of is at the opposite end of the stadium from where we were sitting. I think if we're lucky enough to go back to another game sometime, we need to get the additional zoom lense to use with it.



This is a picture of the jets that flew over the stadium as the Banner was ending. I think it gave everyone chills. I've never heard anything so loud as when they flew over. Stephen and I talked about it and of all the games we've been to, none have had more impressive flyovers than this one. The jets were lower than we've ever seen before and flying faster than any other game we've been to.



As we were walking over to the stadium from the tail gate party, we saw this vehicle. It belongs to the "Packer Pope". This is a man who dresses up in Green and Gold "robes". I have a picture at home, somewhere, from our first trip to Green Bay that I'll post later. He and his wife were so cool, they posed for us to take their picture. The "Pope" was at the player autograph signing too.


This is at the tailgate party. After we'd walked back to get warmer clothes since it was drizzling and the temp was dropping. If only we'd known it was going to clear off by the end of the first quarter and be so warm and sunny that our faces would get sunburned! As it was, Stephen ended up burning up in his sweatshirt. I had a jacket on, thank goodness, so I didn't get too terribly hot. A little about the tailgate parties put on by Packer Fan Tours - they're awesome! All the food you can eat and all the drinks you care to drink. Music, including special tailgate tunes like "the Bears Still Suck" and "Our Favre". A great time, absolutely great.

And the last one for today. This is Stephen with William Henderson at the players autograph party the night before the game. Stephen has been a huge fan of Henderson's for ever, and we were thrilled to find out he was at the party even tho he was no longer a team member.

It was a sad night in our house Sunday with the Packers collapsing and getting beat by the Bears. I hope that wasn't a sign of things to come this season. Oh, and my new co-worker that just started Monday? She's a Bears fan who moved her from just outside Chicago. Oops!

reports of my demise were premature

I AM still here and among the land of the living. Just super swamped, both at work and at home. Can't seem to find time to do much of anything. I can't even find time to decide on the first batch of pictures I want to scrap.

But boy did we have a great time! The game was wonderful, the weather was fallish, and the great citizens of Green Bay, well, they were great as usual. You know they have to be sick of Cheeseheads and tourists and fans, but everyone was super nice to us. Here are some pictures:

This is during the game, obviously. LOVE our new camera. The zoom on it is amazing. We were 16 rows back so we were pretty close to begin with, but even at the far end of the stadium the pictures turned out great.





This is from our lunch at Curly's Pub. The absolutely best nachos I've ever had. We really wanted to try the O-Line burger, but it was 40 oz and we didn't think even on an empty stomach we could handle it and the "bucket of fries" it came with.







A nice couple a few rows behind us agreed to take this picture. I didn't even realize at the time that I was standing on a row of bleachers and that Stephen wasn't. Oops! Well, at least we're not totally mutt and jeff in this picture.







This is while we were waiting in line to get in to the tailgate party. A nice couple from Southern Mississippi snapped this pic for us. We ended up seeing them in the hotel bar on Monday night and had a really nice chat with them, while Stephen discovered the Green Monkey (I'll post the recipe tomorrow). LOVE the new jersey that Stephen bought me at the Packers Pro Shop. He bought me a black one at The Jersey Store the next day. I'll have to model it later and post a pic this weekend maybe.

Last one for today. This is us in front of the statue of Curly Lambeau in front of the stadium, right outside the Atrium and the Pro Shop. A really sweet man that lives in Green Bay offered to take our picture. Of course he said "eh, you two aren't from around here are you?" and we all had a good laugh. After taking this one, he offered to take a picture of us in front of Vince Lombardi's statue (I'll post that later too) so we of course took him up on that as well. This was from Friday afternoon, about 30 mins after we hit town. We checked in to the hotel and went straight over to the stadium and Pro Shop. It was very nice, cool, windy and sunny. I swear the whole trip my hair was in my eyes more than where it belonged. I finally gave up trying to keep it behind my ears even.

Well, that's enough for today. I'll try to post more tomorrow. I figure I have enough stories and pictures to fill up the blog from now til the end of the year.

Happy Labor Day, foot, football, and shorttime-ing

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! I hope you have a safe, happy holiday!

We went to the football game last night. We had a nice time, even tho the Packers got beat. The starting offense only played for two series, and the starting defense only played one series. When you take in to consideration that the Titans played their starters in to the Third Quarter, it's no surprise the Pack got beat. It tried to rain a time or two, drizzling for a few minutes then stopping, but there was an incredible breeze blowing. By the time we got home (12:40am) my foot was killing me, again. It's been hurting for a couple of weeks, but the 1 1/2 mile walk one way to and from the parking lot to the stadium trashed it. Why 3 miles walked outside should be all that different from the 2 1/2 miles I run and the 1 mile I walk in the gym at least 3-4 times a week is beyond me. Thank goodness I made an appt two weeks ago to see the podiatrist this next week before we leave on vacation. I'm hoping and praying that he'll give me another shot.

Shorttime-ing. That's me for sure. I'm soooo ready for vacation. I can't wait to get away, from people, from work, from this town. I've been having a hard time staying focused, and I find myself thinking of all the things I need to pack and be sure are ready to grab the moment we can leave.

I frequent a site called sparkpeople.com. It's for weight loss, healthy living, exercise and support. I found a blurb on there that really hit home today. I'm always crushed any time someone asks me when my baby is due or if I just gave birth. I need to try to remember this instead:

Reading your own thoughts into someone else’s words
Example: Someone made a mildly critical or unsupportive remark to you, and you feel completely devastated. Reality: The more bothered you are by such remarks, the more likely it is that you are being overly critical of yourself. When you treat yourself with respect, what others say won’t matter nearly so much.

migraines and rain and football

It shouldn't come as any surprise that I spent all of last night huddled on the couch in agony with a migraine. My eyes were so messed up from the weaker contacts that I had a headache inside a half hour and a migraine inside of 45 minutes. I took everything I could think of and couldn't get rid of it. Jerk doctor.

We did wake up to a nice surprise. We got a little bit of rain. Not much, and not nearly what we needed, but at least we got some. Maybe a quarter of an inch. Never mind we're over 10 inches below normal and in a severe drought. The rain also brought some cooler temps, which is a welcome relief to the 4+ straight WEEKS of 100+ degree temps.

Tomorrow night we're going to the Packers vs Titans pre-season game. We weren't expecting to go, and it was a wonderful surprise when the owner of our favorite restaurant called us to ask if we needed tickets. Gotta love that! I hope no one gets hurt tomorrow night. The Packers already have several dinged up players, so I'm hoping that nothing else goes wrong. Go Pack!!

I hate doctors!

Can I just scream now? For about a month now, I've noticed I have trouble reading street signs and seeing distances. It's been about 18 months since I've last been in for a new script, so I figured my eyes were getting worse and I needed stronger contacts. Imagine my total disbelief when the eye dr tells me my script is too STRONG and reduced my script by .50 in each eye! I said, so even tho I can't see distant NOW you think I need weaker lenses? Yup, that's what he said. So then I have to write him a check for $75 and feel like I've been robbed. I told him I never would have come in to see him if my eyes weren't WORSE and I needed to see better. Oh, and his answer to me not being able to see my computer monitor was "just take your contacts out". Hello? He expects me to take my contacts out a dozen or more times a day? Or else wear glasses, which I hate. I could have snapped his scrawny butt in half right then and there. I should have refused to pay for that BS. Oh I'm so mad!!

So I've had these "better" contacts in for an hour and of course I have a horrible migraine now. Can I just say I hate men?!

Thursday and new files

I have some new files uploaded, including a football word art that will be perfect for those football kickoffs that should be starting this week around the country. Check them out here:

http://www.cuttersmarket.com/gallery.asp?mnum=020

Here's a pic of the football file:


It's hot. Hotter than hot. This is week 3 of solid 100+ degree days. Not factoring in the heat index. It's been miserable. Our air conditioner started acting up, so we had to call someone to service it. Not looking forward to that bill. I've been in a real rotten mood lately, to the point that I want to tell everyone to shove off and leave me alone. When did the world become so intolerant of different opinions? If you don't agree 100% with what everyone says, you're a horrible, stupid person. And I'm sick of two faced "friends". I thought I had a really good friend at work. Boy was I wrong. Doesn't take much to make you realize you can only truly count on one person in life.

Vacation starts in 336 hours and counting. I cannot wait. We're going to the Packers home opener in Green Bay and I CAN NOT wait! (Hence the new football file posted, and the new ones that should be up in a few days). ;) Go Pack Go!

One good thing, after three weeks of being stuck at 169, I'm finally down to 165. I swear this is killing me!

Monday and new cutter file

Another weekend has flown by. I'm just stunned that as I get older, the months and weeks are just flying by. I've created a new cutter file and it's posted at cuttersmarket.com. Here's a picture and a link:

http://cuttersmarket.com/gallery.asp?mnum=020&cat1=Sports

I hope to add a few more scuba related files in the coming days. Stephen is now officially certified to scuba dive without an instructor. He's very excited. He, his boss and a coworker all passed.

I'm struggling with the diet/weight loss thing. For two weeks now I've had a horrible pain in my side when I run. It usually eases up after about 15 mins, but it's a killer until it does ease up. I've thought it was just a stitch in my side from lack of oxygen, but this weekend it bothered me all day Saturday. Last night we played some Wii sports. I was fine with the bowling, but when I tried the tennis, uh oh. Major pain in my side. It doesn't help either that the stupid scale has stalled again, in spite of watching my food and exercising like a mad woman. *sigh* No way I'll be able to lose 15 lbs before the fall at this rate.

Yesterday was very hard, another father's day without my dad. I don't know that it will ever get any easier. Seems like I should be able to just hop in the car and go see him. I do miss him so.

Almost two months??

Has it really been almost two months since I last posted an entry? Man, life has a way of getting busy. I'm pleased to report that, knock on wood, I think my foot may finally be healing. I had to go back to the podiatrist a couple of weeks ago because my foot was flaring up. But another shot and threeweeks later and, knock on wood, I'm much better.

And I'm slowly making progress in the Get-Healthy department. I'm down 14 lbs since March 29th - when I was finally able to get back to the gym with some frequency. Here are some "from a year ago" comparisons:

June 7, 2006 June 5, 2007 Difference:
Weight: 194 - 176 - 18 lbs
Waist: 43" - 41" - 2"
Hips: 52" - 48" - 4"
Neck: 14.5" - 13.75" - .75"
Thigh: 21.75" - 21.5" - .25"
Calf: 16.75" - 16.25" - .5"
Chest: 43" - 42.5" - .5"
pant size: 24W - 16W - 4 sizes
speed: 3.5 mph - 4.5 mph - 1 mph

Now I know this isn't that impressive, but I've only been hitting this really hard since March 29th.
And while it's ONLY 18 lbs and 8 inches, it's better than I was a year ago. This weekend I picked up a pair of size 16W pants off the clearance rack and they fit! Here's a picture from roughly that time period.

I'll try to get a new picture and post tonight.

And I also owe you guys a free GSD file. I'll work on that tonight as well, and try to get it posted in the next day or so.

cold and a new gsd file

Apparently we're now paying for our mild winter. It's been cold here, freezing for April. We've had a frost warning over night for 5 days now, temps have been below 32 at night. I had to bring my tomato plants in - thank goodness Stephen didn't want to till up a garden spot this year so I had put them in pots!

Exercise is frustrating. I've been busting my rear for a month now and only lost 2 lbs, which keep trying to come back. I've hurt my thigh ( I think it's a partial tear), and my foot still flares up most days. I'm never going to lose weight in time for our vacation at this rate. :(

I submitted a new file for the Cutters Market. Here's a picture of it. It should be up in the next day or two. You should be able to find it here:

www.sussann.cuttersmarket.com

I hope to do a few more "coffee" inspired files in the next week or two.

Vacation time is here. I'm off work next week and I'm soooo looking forward to it. I'm burned out, stressed out and need some me time. I just hope it warms up so I can work in the yard some.

gsd files, walking and spring

I've been working on some new files. I'm going to try posting them on www.cuttersmarket.com. Here's a direct link to my store. sussann.cuttersmarket.com It may take a couple of days for the files to be posted, so please check back from time to time. Any files you'd like to see made, especially titles, drop me a comment and I'll see what I can do.

I've been working out again. Fingers crossed, I *think* my foot is good to go. I went to the gym a couple of days a week for a couple of weeks and didn't end up in agony. So last week I went for it. I went 4 days, did 60 mins, 45 mins, 40 mins and 40 mins. I even jogged a little each day. I'm so hoping this is the answer for my foot. Altho I have to say, dieting and exercising makes for a horrible depression!

I guess it's really spring - or maybe that should say summer. We've had 4 days in a row of 80+ temps. We went from needing the heat to needing the air conditioner. It won't be long before we need to get the lawn mower out and tackle the yard. The first time mowing always seems to be the hardest because everything is in such horrible, shabby shape. I have some tulips that have bloomed, and a few daffodils. I'll take some pics and see if I end up with anything blog-worthy.

two new cutter files

I have a couple of new cutter files to share. The first one is an arrow - U shaped. I know we can't cut chip board, but I still thought it might be nice to have. Maybe cut two of it, and layer them with pop dots in between?

The second file is a belated Valentine file. It's a heart with the words Be Mine welded to it. It has a mat also.

I'll try to add pictures later tonight. I haven't scanned in my cut files yet, so I can't post them just now.

Here are the links:

http://www.4shared.com/file/11575404/ee70580b/arrowU.html - EXPIRED

and

http://www.4shared.com/file/11575403/7014cda8/Be_Mine.html - EXPIRED

I went out with the girls last night while Stephen was at scuba class. We had dinner and went to see The Astronaut Farmer. It was okay, but would have been a better rental in my opinion. It was nice to get out and do something with the girls.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'm so glad it's Friday. VERY long week and I'm dog-tired. Too bad the temps are supposed to plummet over night. It would have been nice to work out in the yard tomorrow.

A quick layout and some thoughts and a GSD file

Here's a quick layout I did for a challenge for a group I'm in. It uses Club Scrap paper. Just a quick, down and dirty layout, but at least I scrapped a little.

Nothing new here. Stephen was in a little better mood last night. Thank goodness. Wednesday he came home from work to discover I had bought him a box of Samoa Girl Scout cookies (I won't eat these because I hate coconut) and he lost it on me. Yelled and screamed, told me I was trying to sabotage his diet and how dare I not be support of him. He really was an a** about the whole thing. I took them to work yesterday and gave them away. Ungrateful snot.

Still not feeling too good. My sinus infection is some better, but the infection part doesn't seem to be clearing up. I have two days of antibiotics left, so maybe that will finally knock it. My foot is feeling better. I hope to start trying to walk again next week. I'll have to go slow and see how it feels. I have to get back in to some sort of weight loss regime. The podiatrist told me last time I saw him to stay off the exercise bike, so that really limits what I can do.

And it's Friday. Thank goodness! Seems like such a long, miserable week. The weather is starting to warm up and we even have sun today. Sure wish I could be home on the deck, reading or scrapping.

And lastly, here's a GSD file for Wishblade and CraftRobo users.

http://www.4shared.com/file/11140634/2d361752/birthday_with_mat.html - EXPIRED

I'm sorry I don't have a picture to post. I forgot to scan the cut file last night before I watched Grey's. It's a birthday cake with the words Happy Birthday. I hope some of you can use it. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on it.

Valentine's? Bah hum bug!

Or at least that's apparently Stephen's opinion of the holiday. The first of the month, I suggested that, if he got a wild hair to buy me flowers at the last minute (like he normally does) to not, that there was something cheaper from Wal-Mart that I would really rather have. He said he hadn't planned on doing anything but a card. So I said that's fine. And then he said we might go out to eat the weekend before or the weekend after, since it was a week night and things are so busy and crowded during the week on holidays. Okay, sounded fine to me. Until Wed night when I tried to give him his Valentine's day card. He had a fit. Said it wasn't time for them. Said we were doing cards this weekend when we went out to eat. Ah, uh, okay. Whatever. Makes zero sense to me and really hurt my feelings, bad.

Fast forward to this Saturday. Bear in mind I've been sick all week and didn't feel like going out to eat this weekend. He mentioned about 3pm, "oh, we need to do Valentine's cards but my card for you is downstairs and I don't want to have to go down and get it, we'll do them later". Ah, okay, again, I guess. So I'm seeing really quickly that it's too much effort for him to have to walk down the steps to get my card. Gee, that really made my hurt feelings better. So I take my card down later that evening and he never mentions it again. Sunday he mentions in passing "we didn't do cards" and "why didn't you remind me"? Well you know, big guy, if I have to remind you to give me a card, then it really doesn't mean much does it? But I didn't say it. STILL he doesn't go get my card.

This morning I am getting ready to leave for work and find a card by my keys and purse. It's not a valentine's day card. It's a generic "love you" card. He wrote inside it something lame about how he doesn't need a holiday to be told when to tell me he loves me or some other BS like that. And he doesn't even sign it love Stephen - he signs it "your husband". I'm just crushed beyond words. I KNEW he had forgotten to get me a real card, and this just proves it. I'm so hurt and upset I don't know how to express my feelings. I know it's "just a holiday" to him but he KNOWS it's not to me. How dare he cast my feelings in the mud like this? Men!!

check out my friend's digital kits!

Check out Amy's digital kits!!

Is she just not the most talented? You can find Amy's kits here:
http://www.the-lilypad.com/digitaldesigner.aspx?mid=25

I love this snowman kit. I hope we get some snow this year so I can scrap with it.

And then, check out this one! I love this one too.
Stop by and check her out!



There's nothing new going on here. My foot still hurts, I'm depressed and can't get motivated to even do the stupid bike at the gym. I'm feeling old and useless. And alone. Stephen signed up to take diving lessons so he can get certified to go scuba diving. Never mind we don't live near the ocean. Supposedly there are "lots" of places he and his friends can go diving during the year. I guess I should be grateful that he's not out getting drunk or carousing with a woman. But instead I feel alone and left out. How sad that all of my friends are miles and miles away. I'm sure this is just my winter funk. My turning another year older and no one cares pity party. But it's getting harder and harder to get through each one.

2007

I can't believe the year is gone and we're already 16 days in to the new year. It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the July 4th holiday. I never believed my parents when I was growing up, but time really does fly as you get older.

Here's my first & second layouts of 2007. The title/paper piecing is a file that I got from The Wishblading Well for the Wishblade/Craft Robo. That was my Christmas this year - a Craft Robo. I love how easy it is to cut anything. Now to learn how to make my own stuff!





I went to the dr on the 28th. I actually saw a different dr, one who was known to give shots in the foot for planters fasciata. I have to say, it was one of the most painful things I've endured, a shot right in the heel of my foot. It helped for a couple of weeks, but now the burning in my foot is back. I have an appt to see a podiatrist on the 17th. I'm hoping and praying he can find a more permanent solution, but I'm not holding my breath. It's frustrating me so much, and making me very, very depressed. The bike at the gym kills my knees and I'm not burning hardly any calories when I do it. This weight is never going to come off.