From the End to the Beginning

Christmas is over and we all survived the day. There was one difference this year though. It didn't feel like Christmas. I was so busy making gifts that I forgot what the holiday was really for. So it is now that I reflect on the "Reason for the Season."

As stated in Rick Warren's book, The Purpose of Christmas, it is a time of celebration: God loves you, God is with you, and God is for you. It is also a time for salvation: Jesus save you from something, Jesus save you for something, and Jesus saves you by something. Lastly, it is a time for reconciliation: peace with God, the peace of God, and peace with others.

I have much to be thankful for this year. My children survived life-threatening emergencies and my husband and I have survived in still having a job to go to every day. I am thankful for being able to visit my college 30 years later and take a trip to Hawaii for 2 weeks. I am thankful for my friends that have remained in contact with me and family who still consider me part of the "family." I am thankful that I can spread some cheer and caring for those in need whether it be through a hand made card or a collection of funds for a meal. But I give all my thanks to Jesus for paving the way to heaven and eternal life and knowing that I will see Mom, Dad and Kevin again.

God Bless you all and may you all have a wonderful New Year.

It's Getting Closer to Christmas

It is only 5 1/2 days to Christmas Eve and I am no where near ready. The Christmas tree is 3/4's up (we can't find the top part) after struggling for 6 hours (the metal pole bend when the tree fell over) to get this thing to stand (crooked and out of shape). There are no decorations up on the tree or in the house. I have no idea what I am feeding 15 people on Christmas Day. I don't have all the gifts, including the ones I am trying to make, done yet. I still have Christmas cards to finish and mail and can't seem to stay awake long enough at the end of a day to work on them. I have to drive down to pick up my son at college tonight instead of tommorrow since we will probably have a winter storm warning and I still have my computer stuff and clothes in his room which I need to move out.

So here are some cards that I did get done recently. I just can't do one design and end it there. I have to do a lot of different ones.

A Family Member Gone

I recently found out one of my uncles passed away in 2002. I sit here wondering why I was never told. I have gone through the anger stage with my mother's family and have accepted that he is gone. I called this man, Uncle Buddy, his given name was Edward. Most of my life I was not close to him. I really don't know why, but I do remember as a child, that the size of this man scared the heck out of me. As I got older and became a member of the Eastern Star I saw him more often when he would come to the meetings. When my parents died, I was told he was in a nursing home (The Masonic Masons) and he had developed problems due to diabetes and that he wouldn't see anyone but one of my other uncles', Bruce.
So as a Memory Keeper, I search for death records and came across my Unlce Buddy's. It just reinforced my feelings that once your parents die you have no more relatives. Letters written don't get responded to and death information doesn't get passed around to the left-out family members. I was an only child growing up and I am an only child all grown up with no relatives.

FALL WINTER SAMPLER SPECIAL

Starting today, you can take advantage of a special promotion from the Fall Winter Sampler Catalog. Spend just $20 and you can get any of the items listed below for 20% off. Check out the catalog by clicking the picture.

Item #	Description	Retail	20% Off
111564	Flight of the Butterfly	$31.95	$25.56
112911	Vuelo de la mariposa (Spanish Flight of the Butterfly)	$31.95	$25.56
111676	Puns from the Past	$27.95	$22.36
111660	Just Jawing	$25.95	$20.76
111624	Dreams du Juor	$18.95	$15.16
111700	Thank You Kindly	$13.95	$11.16
111714	Wow Flowers	$12.95	$10.36
112955	Flores llamativas (Spanish Wow Flowers)	$12.95	$10.36
111600	Bella's Bloom	$12.95	$10.36

The Christmas Card Weekend

11/30/2008
It's Thanksgiving weekend and instead of shopping like all the crazies out there I stayed in and worked on Christmas cards. As you can see, I did a batch of the ornament design and another batch of the Snow Swirled Tree embossed in white with a lace edging and a little red ribbon. I can never just have one style of cards so watch out for at least three more styles coming up in the next week.

Christmas Cards 2008

11/16/08
Saturday was a wonderful day. The rain came and went, the sun came and went, and the rain came down in buckets. Yes, I did get soaking wet. After working most of the day on my Christmas cards, I went to the grocery store with the sun shining and walked out getting wet. But all in all, I had a great day. I had purchased the kit that went with the Stamps "You and Your's" and finished the cards for all the family members. Now I can spend time on the special cards I want to make.

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday and my husband's birthday is tomorrow so the families and mother-in-law will gather and go out to dinner to celebrate. Looking forward to the relaxation before a busy week at the school. Report Card time for the kids is always a hectic time. So I hope everyone has a great week.

Special Promotion for Rub-Ons

11/12/08
Stampin' Up is holding a promotion for getting their great rub-ons for 20% less. Just spend $20 and you can purchase an unlimited amount of rub-ons. These rub-ons are great with similar design stamp sets and designer paper. Check out the flyer on the right. Don't wait to get your rub-ons at the low price of $8.76 (original price $10.95)

Item page Description
111417 178 Word Flurries
111277 178 A Perfect Day
111416 178 Chateau Bella
111414 178 Hidden Garden
110283 179 Take Note
111806 179 Chills & Thrills
111804 179 Chit Chat
111415 179 Greatest Moments
111805 179 School Days
110282 179 Anchored
112844 11* Old Saint Nick
112843 17* Season of Cheer
112735 39** Hidden Garden Blossoms

OFFER ENDS NOVEMBER 30th

A Visit to Rowan

11/2/08
Well, my weekend started on Friday when I went to a seminar on Managing Multiple Priorities. So what did I learn? Basically, the presenter spoke primarily that you need to improve your self-esteem. So what does that have to do with managing multiple priorities? It is so that you can learn to say "no." If you can't say "no" it's because your self-esteem is not good. So, could you imagine me saying "no" to the principal, superintendent, or the Board of Education? They also talked about how once you have better self-esteem you can ask for more money. They definitely don't know how it works in a school system. Was the seminar worth it? I would have to say "No."

When the seminar was done, I drove one of the ladies to the train station and then headed down to my mother-in-laws, Lurline's, to visit and spend the night. I will have to admit that my mother-in-law makes one heck of a spaghetti dinner. We spent the rest of the night looking at pictures, catching up on family happenings and see her latest addiction, playing the slots on the internet. When we finally went to bed it was around 1am. Boy am I going to have a hard time getting up in the morning.

I finally woke up at 10:44am on Saturday. Darn, we are suppose to leave in 30 minutes to go visit my son, Chris, at Rowan University. So after dressing, eating rye toast, and finding the key to open the car doors, we headed west then south to Glassboro. We arrived at Rowan around 1pm but couldn't go up to see Chris's room yet because his roomate was still in bed. Chris showed us around the library, the dining hall, the bookstore and then we finally went up to his room. Actually he had more space in the room since they moved some items around. Of course, he had to show me his new Guitar......I won't even go there. We spent the rest of our visit going out for linner at Friendly's, then shopping at K-Mart and Acme. We finally got him home (the dorm) at about 6:15, said our goodbyes and headed back to mom's to drop her off before I headed home. No, I didn't cry this time when I left him. I sure do miss him but am happy to see that he is happy.

So my weekend is over as I sit here folding the laundry and thinking about what I am going to make for dinner. At least maybe next week I can spend some time making some cards. Hope everyone else has a great week.

Flower Power

10/21/08
Well, I finally got my Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements Kit. So last night I sat and made a few cards. Here is one of them I made. I didn't stamp anything on it yet because I am not sure what occasion I want to use the card for. But as you can see, you can make the cards ahead of time and personalize it when you're ready.

I ordered another kit but that is on backorder. Wait till you see that one! On second thought you may not see that one till Christmas. I'll decide later.

Brighten Someone's Day

10/18/08
What a lovely day, the sun is shining, the chill is in the air, the leaves are turning colors, and I get to have time making some cards. Here is a card I made for a friend who just had back surgery. She is doing rather well but I want her to know I am thinking of her.

I keep forgetting to take pictures of the cards I make. I took one to work yesterday and had so many teachers ask me to host a workshop at my house and soon that I guess I will do just that. So for those who keep an eye on my blog, I will be holding a beginners workshop on Sunday, November 9th beginning at 1:30pm - 4pm. So while the hubbies are watching football we can be making some cards. Just RSVP to my email and we'll count you in.

DebraJacobsen@Gmail.com

Starter Kit Has Arrived

10/16/08
I guess I can officially say I am a Stampin' Up demonstrator since I got my starter kit. Actually it came with more things than I expected. Now I just have to find the time to watch the DVD and look over all the paperwork. I did take the magazine to work today to read it at lunch. WOW! I am so excited I don't know what to do first. I think I will start with making some samples for a workshop.

Country Living Magazine Offer

10/14/08
Subscribe to Country Living for only $12 and get a FREE mini-stamp kit! For just $1 an issue, you'll receive great craft projects, articles on collecting, makeover features, recipes, and entertaining ideas--all delivered to their home each month. PLUS, Country Living will include the exclusive Stampin' Up mini stamp kit. You can use it to design note cards, menus, or anything else that inspires you!

Just contact me if you're interested in the getting the subscription and this beautiful stamp set.

Cards, Cards and More Cards

10/13/08

I started making cards in September 2006. At that time, I made cards primarily for one person. A wonderful co-worker who was battling breast cancer. I made a card for everyday she came to work. I couldn't trade places with her so I did what was left to do - be there for her when she needed me and give her encouragement every day. I'm not sure how many cards I finally made her, but her desk area was completely covered by Thanksgiving. In a way she was my experiment is learning new techiques and trying new designs, but she always got the best.

She survived the chemo and radiation treatments and I still work with her today. I don't make her a card everyday but I do treat her once in a while to a newly designed card or papercraft gift - in fact she finished eating all the tootsie rolls from the bag gift I gave her. She has become a special person in my life that I would do anything for. I think I'll make her a card tonight. Thank you LD for letting me into your life and you being a part of my life.

Changes in Life

10/12/08
Well, if you were at my site last week you will notice it has changed. Like so many thing in life, changes are a constant. My attempt to the blog the way I want it to look is probably confusing a lot of people. Oh yeah, I also changed the name. You'll find the site under HarlwynMemories but I renamed the page The Memory Keeper. So please forgive me while I may not be done changing the look or the name.


So where did Harlwyn Memories come from. My parents. My mom's name was Harriet and my father's name was Selwyn. When they were breeding dogs they created the name Harlwyn. Yes, I miss them terribly. But then remembering them reminded me of another memory. That's where the Memory Keeper comes in. I know it was a name of a book and movie but when I look at the things I do in my life, my hobbies, my friendships - they are all memories that I want to keep close to my heart.