MIA.

I know, I have been missing in action lately. A lot has been going on and I just haven't really had time to blog or create. :(

I will post an update on what is going on in my life soon, hopefully next week or so. Summer is here, and life is getting hectic. Lots to share!! But we are going to the lake this weekend for some much neede R&R. So sunshine and water, here I come!!!!

To be continued...

I Won!

Wow, I can't believe it. I am still in shock-- I won the Three Cheers for Chairs challenge on the Moxie Fab World blog!! Click here to see the announcement.

I am super excited. I have always been too nervous to enter my work. I've entered a few card challenges here and there, but have never won. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to enter a contest and win or be published... and I did!!
I have received some wonderful compliments on my window pane that won. I thank each and every one of you for encouraging me and for all of your kind words. I must admit, I have checked the comments on the post about a dozen times, and each time I see more and more praise for my pane. It has really brightened my whole week. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I truly mean it.
A lot of people have asked how I made the window pane. I was actually asked by Jamie to be a guest blogger at C.R.A.F.T., so in a week or so I will be writing a post on how I created the window pane. I will let you all know when it is posted. :)
Thanks again to everyone who commented and supported my work. Words can't express how much it means to me.
Have a blessed week!
-Lindsay

Tornadoes.

Monday morning I woke up and I had an uneasy feeling. I didn't quite know what it was, but I knew it was just going to be "one of those days".

I turned on the news and they began talking about the weather. "Severe storms tonight with a possibility of hail and tornadoes". Great. Living in Oklahoma, that is one of my biggest fears. They don't call it "Tornado Alley" for nothing.

The weather outside seemed to be somewhat cool--not as humid as it typically gets this time of year. The weather"wo-man" said the highs would be near 80, which didn't seem too hot. Boy, was I wrong.

On the way to work, I flipped on the radio. They immediately began talking about how bad the weather would be around rush hour this afternoon. I knew that something was coming. I had that feeling. I knew people give weathermen a hard time and say they never get it right, but when it comes to bad weather in Oklahoma, I will be the first one to listen to what they have to say.

Around lunch time I could tell the weather was warming up, and it was extremely humid outside. This was not a good sign.

At the end of the day when 4 o'clock rolled around, my mom called. "Are you watching the weather? You should really think about getting home soon..." I looked outside and the sky was turning gray. I talked to Andrea and we both agreed--it was time to go home.

Driving on the turnpike, the sky looked ominous. It started to rain. My stomach immediately turned to knots. I just wanted to be home. Another reason why I hate living 35 minutes from work...

The traffic was heavy. I think everyone and their brother had the same idea to leave at the exact same time. The turnpike was heavy, and cars were driving close. We were all in a hurry to just be home and safe.

I turned on the radio and it immediately sounded the bad weather alert. "... heavy rains and circulation located in Newcastle and Tuttle..." Whew, that was a little bit south of Yukon, so I was hoping I could get home before then. Around that time, the phone rang. My mom called.

"Where are you?" I told her where I was and she told me it was headed that way. I told her I was on my way home... it seemed like I couldn't get there quick enough. I hung up with her, and the phone rang again. Dad.

"Where are you?" On the turnpike. "It is headed right your direction, so you should think about pulling off and finding shelter under an overpass and wait it out..." It didn't seem to be that bad yet, so I decided to continue driving a little bit further.

I kept watching the clouds above me. I could see the bright blue sky in the distance, and beneath that was a layer of white, then below was a layer of gray, swirling clouds. I kept thinking to myself, I wish I had my camera out so I could get this. It was amazing how the clouds were moving and swirling. Then I realized, they were circling. The brief moment of awe suddenly turned into a form of panic. Circulation is never good in Oklahoma.

All of the sudden, the rain came. And it came with a vengance. It poured and poured, and the wind blew and blew. I had to grip the steering wheel with both hands to keep my car straight on the road. The rain was so fierce that I turned my wipers on full blast, but it didn't help. I couldn't see. I quickly turned my hazards on, thinking that this would hopefully prevent someone from running into the back of me. The storm was here, and I was scared. It was one of those moments where you "should've listened to dad's advice"...

The rain was pounding so hard on the car that I could barely hear the newscaster. The music hadn't been on since I got in the car, only the advice of someone who knows what he's talking about. I heard bits and pieces of the broadcast, only because I was too scared to take my hands off of the wheel to turn it up. "Yukon... touchdown... softball size hail... take shelter..."

I started to panic. I had tears in my eyes and I just wanted to be home.

I was about half-way home and came up to an exit on the turnpike. There were three police cars lined up across the turnpike, almost warning cars not to pass. I decided it was best to pull off the road and wait it out for a bit. It seemed to be what the majority of cars were doing. I pulled off into a church parking lot and tried to get as close to the canopy as possible.

My phone rang, and it was Stephen. "Where are you??" I told him. "I've been trying to call you like 10 times and it wouldn't go through! There was a tornado in Yukon and it's headed right towards you...."

All of the sudden, the rain just... stopped. No rain, no hail... nothing. I sat in my car and watched the clouds. It was almost as if they were dancing. They were spinning, and moving and twirling, very fast but almost with rhythm. It seemed like the worst was over, so I decided to get back on the highway.

I didn't really "hear" what the newscaster was saying the rest of the way home. I just knew I was on a mission and that was what was on my mind.

I pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. My heart sank. A weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, and they fell as if they were 10 pounds lighter. I was clinching the steering wheel so tightly, that when I got home, my hands were achey.

I went inside and sank onto the chair. Home sweet home, even if it was at my parent's house.

Watching the news, come to find out there really was a touchdown in Yukon, and it wasn't too far from my parent's house. (My parents only live about 2 miles from my house.)

And apparently, the storm that had the tornado moved right up the turnpike north, over the path that I was driving. It ended up dropping down another tornado just a mile or so from where I had pulled off the road. I swear it felt like I was in the middle of a vortex when the clouds were spinning... and come to find out, I was.

I continued to watch the news, and the tornados unfolding. We watched live from the helicopter on television as a van was picked up and thrown down the street. (click on the link to watch it) We watched as one went over one of the popular lakes nearby. And we watched in horror at the complete devastation that they left behind. It ripped off the top of a Love's convenient store, one that we have visited on our way to the lake. It ripped boats out of the marina and piled them into the middle of Lake Thunderbird. And we saw houses and mobile homes that were snatched right off of the foundation, only to be tossed aside like a toy. U-haul trucks were in trees, semis were overturned, and cars were upside down. And the bad thing was, the storm spanned miles and miles and miles.

After hours of watching live coverage, I went to the internet, where I searched some more. Below is a photo of the tornado that hit Yukon, just a couple miles from my house. This was taken from the McDonald's that is 1 mile down the street from me (Photos found on kfor.com).

And here is another view of the Yukon tornado... too close for comfort.

After Monday's devastation, 6 lives were lost. My heart goes out to the families of those victims. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. My prayers are with them all.
I decided to do something and help, so I have set up a clothing drive at work. We will be taking gently used clothing through the end of May. I have set up a box in our office. I delivered memos to the tenants, and they all seemed excited to help. Hopefully it will be a success and we can help out those who have lost everything.

-L

Have a Seat...

Over at the MoxieFabWorld blog they are hosting a Chair Challenge. I love chairs, chandeliers, bird cages... all of that cuteness! Here are the two items I am entering:

The first is the window pane that I made. This measures about 3 foot tall by 2 foot wide or so. I bought some vintage window panes on Craigs List and I have been making some wall art with them. It is so much fun! I love how the chair turned out, and the rhinestones really make it pretty.

The second is a shadowbox/table art that I made. I am going to put this in my room. I found some clipart of a chair, enlarged it, cut it out, traced it onto black cardstock, and cut it out. It really took some time. I didn't like the "exact" design of the chair, so I changed it a bit. :)

Thanks for looking. Wish me luck!!

-Lindsay

NSD.

NSD = National Scrapbooking day!! May 1st was the day... and I HAD to take some time to myself and create. It has been weeks since I was able to "get crafty", so I knew I wanted some mommy time to do what I love. :)
We had Z's allergy shots that morning, and then that afternoon we napped a bit. Afterwards, we went to mom and dad's (who just got back from Florida the week prior) to visit. We stayed for a bit and then I was getting antsy and wanted to go home and scrap.
Zoie and I got out our scrapbooking supplies (hers consisting of mommy's leftover scrapbook paper, colored pencils, crayons, coloring books, stencils, and her very own "ladybug" scissors). She lasted a whole 5 minutes and then wanted to watch qubo on TV.
I was able to finish one layout that I had started weeks ago (our trip to the pumpkin patch- photos coming soon) and complete a new one for the NSD challenges over at studiocalico.com.
Here was Jenn's sketch that was given:

And here is what I came up with:

I loved the papers and embellishments that I used. I won them from Karen's Blog Giveaway a couple weeks ago, and I have been dying to use them on something. The colors matched perfectly with Zoie's pillow on her bed.

I had a blast taking time to myself to create. I am definitely going to have to do it more often!!

Thanks for looking,

-Lindsay