Is it HOT & STICKY or what????

And if you can get past that, then there's that whole mosquito infestation to contend with! I can deal with heat & humidity - that's what we have a pool for, but the mosquitos are another story! All the rain we've been getting isn't helping in the humidity or the mosquito problem.

Unfortunately, when it gets hot like this, I can't even really craft in my craft room because it just gets too hot by 11:00 a.m., so I either have to get it done early or break it up into several days.

I did manage to get some stuff done before all the heat hit. I made my daughter's Kindergarten teacher a flower pot bouquet. She was retiring this year, so I wanted something different & special for her last class. I'm hoping she liked it.




















Then, there was my step-sister's birthday in May also. She's been battling leukemia for 3 years & has finally started to feel better & look great again. I made this card for her. This is the front of the card.















This is the inside. It reads: Count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by friends, not years.















This is the gift I made for my step-sister, it's a bowling ball I made into a gazing ball. She always seemed to really admire the one I made for myself, so I decided to make one for her too. I wish I could have done a better job on hers, but they always say that we're our own worst critic.

















Last, but not least....have you heard about the new Cricut Lite cartridges that are a Walmart exclusive? Oh dear! There are about 24 new ones I believe, & just about all are must have's, but some are a little less than necessary. Anyway, our Walmart didn't have the whole 24, but had a decent amount to pick from. Of course, at nearly $40 bucks a pop, I'll have to pace them out in my purchasing. This little notebook is from the Bloom cartridge. It's very cute! I still have to dig out my Bind It All and add the binding to the left side of this, but you get the idea of how it's supposed to look. It has a few words, but no font like some of them do.











Brooke went to her first day camp today at Earthworks with her friend Daniel & she had a blast! She's kind of whooped, but that's a good thing! The bad part is now she's so easily bored & so anxious to get in the pool that isn't quite ready yet. The kids made some strawberry jam today & got to pet the animals there & was able to do lots of "swimming" in the little lake there.

I also received some very sad news today. It seems that in an ironic, bad twist of fate, my cousin was killed in a car accident on Sat. morning. He wasn't driving, but was the passenger, so it was no fault of his own, other than he was there (and had been drinking). The twist to the story is that 20 years ago, he WAS the driver and was involved in an accident that killed his passenger, that was his best friend. He never got over that guilt & battled his demons all these years with the only weapon he knew & it too caused him even more pain - alcohol. I was never close to my uncle and aunt, but I would never wish this on any family or parent, no matter how old their "kids" are. Terry is finally at peace & perhaps back with his friend.

God bless & hug your loved ones everyday.