Post Op Ramblings

Made it through my rotator cuff repair 12/21 and had an extra bonus.....the Mayans apparently were not good at math.  For the next 12-16 weeks I will be a one arm wonder. Should be interesting. Creative rehab right?  disclaimer- may see misspellings, poor grammar, lack of punctuation etc. - blame the Percocet. don't judge me

Pain is not horrible....Percocet help. My new best friends: continuos ice machine,iPad, iPhone, Pandora and my iPhone speakers.  Technology will get me through this.

I am sporting the ginormous shoulder pad look from the 80's, well at east on the left side. Perhaps I look more like IGOR in young Frankenstein. My hair does not look too bad.....from the front.  I can feel that I have a serious case of bed head in the back. All I do is medicate, ice,  sleep. I am trying to move around more though, or I will need dynamite soon. You know what I mean. Ugly business. 

My girlfriends are coming over this morning and I am hoping to get hair washed and blown out.  Maybe I will feel human again.  On a positive note- got my Studio J jpegs back for several projects so will post those soon. Well, wrapping this up so I can take advantage of the Percocet high. 

The challenge ahead

This Friday I have rotator cuff surgery. I have mixed feelings about it, kind of like finding out your are pregnant for the first time then being terrified at the prospect of giving birth.

 I have watched my husband go through having both his shoulders done so I understand the intense pain post op and during the following 12-16 weeks of rehab. I know there can be a depression as you recover and you wonder if your arm will ever be the same. I understand this. I want to think I will be strong and push through this but part of mind wonders, am I tough enough to get through this and do the rehab even when it hurts like hell?

 I just turned 60, will it be a factor......even though I am going into this in the best shape that I have been in since my 20's. I am a triathlete. I became a triathlete just this summer, in my 60th yr. that in itself has had repeated challenges and fears to overcome, as well as numerous injuries as I push my older body to run, cycle and swim faster and better. Did I give up? No. Was it hard? Yes was it demoralizing at times? Yes ......I am thinking perhaps this first season has hardened me and prepared me for the challenge and limitations of this surgery. That's what I think  most of the time. It will be difficult not to be able to run this winter.....I love cold weather running. I am post menopausal so I carry my own internal heat source and it works for me.  I will miss that.....and the multisports community. I worry how I will cope with seeing posts and watching friends begin training for the season when I cannot. I am trying to make peace with the loss of a tri season. It is hard. I am driven to train and I enjoy it. I get cranky without it. I have set up my bike trainer so I can cycle when permitted and I have a "dreadmill" to walk on. If I can't race then I will volunteer. My goal was to run my first half marathon in Sept. I am going to try to make that goal. Trying to be positive. This is also prime scrapbooking time but not sure I can do much with one hand.......perhaps I can really get a lot of digital Studio J scrapping done..... I can mouse and click just fine! 

Say a prayer for an uneventful surgery and recovery. I will post but probably not til after Christmas since I will be drugged up quite nicely......at least that's the plan! 

New Studio J Artwork

I did my first Express Collection in Studio J and I love them! Quick, easy, and simple. I was able to complete 30 pages in one evening! This is the first set I did, titled Art Chicks. To see the entire collection go to my artwork tab. 

Studio J Expression Collection layout 1- That FACE! 

I will post new layouts to the artwork once I get my jpegs. 

Studio J will be primary scrapping mode for the few months. I am having rotator cuff surgery in a week so will not have full use of that arm for 12 weeks. I am going to become intimately familiar with Studio J functionality and will host classes in my studio once I am able to put myself together so I don't frighten anyone. This surgery is really jamming up my half marathon and triathlon training for 2013. I am bringing my bike in and putting it on the trainer so I can cycle in my sling. I am lucky enough to have a treadmill so I can walk. No running for 12 weeks- dang it. I plan to hit my shoulder rehab like training- beast mode. I will be able to start training again late March if all goes well. I will be stronger once healed. Let's just git er done!

Holiday sale!

Yippee! HUGE  discounts on paper packs and embellishments! These items are going fast and are while supplies last. Great buys for Christmas gifts! Click here to start shopping the sale! Happy holidays! 

Framed Rolled Christmas Tree

Don't you just love this tree? I made for our GottaStamp Crew holiday party gift exchange and it was stolen several times in the exchange before it found its very happy owner. This is a great use of your holiday paper scraps. I take no credit for the idea. I saw it at convention and it's on Pinterest  & other crafting sites, so this is my take on it. You can use any frame size you want and just adapt the lengths of the rolls. See below for instructions:

 Framed rolled paper Christmas tree

To make this tree I turned my frame sideways and cut my longest base roll at 8" x 3", then 7 1/2 x 3, 7x3, etc., all the way to 1 x 3. 

• Use a pencil to roll the paper and use CTMH Bonding Memories glue to adhere the edge. It dries fast so I like that. I used all CTMH holiday paper. 
• I used the Cricut Artiste cartridge and found a shape I could use for the brown base. There are several to chose from and I sliced part of this off to get a potted base look. I used chocolate cardstock.
• Sponge the edges of the pot with chocolate ink and random stamp some scroll designs in chocolate. I was going to emboss them but I got lazy. It may have been the cold I am battling.
• I used CTMH glitter gel to place scalloped lines and dots on the rolls. I used red, green, almond and clear. I had some scrap chipboard dots so I glitter gelled them as ornaments but buttons or anything you have would look good. 
• The star is one of our corrugated cardboard stars that glittered with almond glitter gel. I used one of our antiqued brass buttons and cranberry bakers twine.
• Select a neutral print for your background and glue it your frame base. Discard or repurpose the glass as you won't need it. 
• Use 3D tape to pop up and adhere the pot.
• Hot glue the paper rolls to the fame base. Hot glue your star and voila! Merry Christmas! 

Supply list:
Various holiday scrapbook papers
Cricut Artiste 
CTMH Glitter Gels- red, green, almond and snowflake.
CTMH brass buttons
CTMH cranberry bakers twine.
Chipboard or corrugated star
Frame of your preference 
One last thing, I prefer to display on a easel stand but you could hang it also. Happy creating!