lisa

My Mom

 It was a year ago today at 7:30 am that i said "goodbye" to my best friend. 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, 17,271 hours. i don't think that i am any different or that it hurts any more for me than anyone else, i think the hardest part is being an only child and not having any one person to talk to our "mom" about. Right up to the very end mmy mom still had her wit and sense of humor, her positive outlook and her will to live like no other. My mom NEVER complained about anything, i remember saying to my mom while she was in ICU "mom, if you are in pain you need to say so, so they can give you something so your blood pressure stays down." and her response to me was "honey, i need to feel a little pain, it makes you stronger"

I'm not sure the pain i have felt this past year has made me any stronger!! Without a shadow of a doubt i know that without my husband, soul mate, rock, love of my life, and best friend Kelly i would have never gotten through this rough time, he has held me every step of the way and wiped away more tears than you could ever imagine. I love this man so much.........heck i won't go to Paris only because i cant be away from him that long!!

And then there has been all of my friends who through every yard sale, estate sale, auction, cleaning, packing, moving, memories, tears..........how will i ever be able to repay each and every one of you for everything you have done?

And to my sweet daughter Kelsie, thank you for needing me, i will always be here for you, we will be best friends forever!

I just hope that each and every one of you know how much i love you. Thank you for helping me make it through each day,

lisa

Twenty Twelve!!

Wow, what a year!!! I don't even know if there is a good place to start other than with...... "Where in the world did the last 365 days go?" I can't ever remember a year going by so fast!! So where do I start? January started out full steam ahead getting the books for both companies closed out and to the accountant, that is always such a relief when they leave my hands and are passed on!! As we got closer to the end of the month and Michele and I prepared to go to CHA on our annual buying trip, that was when my world fell completely apart... My mom was admitted to the hospital. February 3rd after 10 days in the hospital my mom passed. I know she is in a better place but it doesn't make it any easier. I can honestly say I really don't remember much about the next two months. In
 April, Michele and I went to Spokane to go to Farm Chicks.....this has always been one of my bucket list dreams. We had a great time but it really wasn't what I expected and I thought about my mom and all of our antiquing trip the whole time we were there. It was a good trip but disappointing!! The next 6 months were spent going thru moms house and getting it ready....bittersweet, so hard to know what to do, memories upon memories I sifted thru alone something I had to do as know one else would ever know what I wanted to keep and what I didn't!! I didn't want to rush the process but I didn't want to keeping going back to her empty house,
my mom, my best friend, the one person who never judged me always loved me and was on my side no matter what!! In May Kelsie moved out and broke our hearts!! You know 18 years old and knows everything!! Her dad and I were so hurt and disappointed! Once empty nesters, Kelly and I spent a lot of time together, just the two of us!! We spent many of summer nights out flying. While he flew his plane I got caught up on all my magazines and
 cookbooks......loved the time together!! Fall, my favorite time of the year.....Michele ,Sherri and I went to The Creative Connection and the Junk Bonanza in Minneapolis. I have to say besides the trip with Kelly to
 Montana that was absolutely the highlight of my year!! We met up with ladies that I had met at other events and all of us had such a great time together!! I can hardly wait to go back!! After 2 garage sales and an estate sale we said goodbye to the rest of moms things with an auction.....something I will regret the rest of my life. The sale was horrible the prices her beautiful things brought was pathetic but in my heart
I know mom knows I did it as a last resort and I did my best prior to honor her! Christmas was good, loved putting out all the decorations, even got the outside ones up this year, got to do a lot of cooking and
 baking, lots of holiday parties, created so many fun things at the store and had
so many fun classes with friends. Loved having
family here, there was just one seat that was empty. It was a difficult year but
 I really have so much to be grateful for, I
 will never be able to thank all my wonderful friends and family who held my hand and assured
 me things would be ok....my rock, my husband, my best friend....Kelly thank you. Michele, Elizabeth, Audrey,Neva,Jeannie,kelsie,Wendy,Jann,Jackie,Judy,Vicki, Sherri, George......omg, who am I missing there were so any of you, thank you for all your love and support, I wouldn't have made it without you!! God Bless.

P.S. Did i fail to mention that we also went to Disneyland for Brittanie's cheer competition, had a big Creative Journey Event at the store, and had a girls weekend to celebrate birthdays in Utah, and camped this year!! WOW, i wonder what i did in my spare time? IRONED CLOTHES!!!!

I've Been Naughty!!

I have been so naughty not keeping up on my blog, you see since i got my Ipad i keep to journals going and it is all i can do to keep up on that!! i decided to help me with the loss of my mom i should journal like i am talking to her......hmmm don't know that that is helping much, it makes me cry every day!! I had decided to get up every morning at 7am. no matter what so that i could be out of the house no later than 9am and at Zulus so that i could have my morning coffee and journal,  i make it about twice a week and the other days i run errands in the morning!! Busy, busy, busy no different than any one else i guess!! So back to being naughty, i guess that is why with two other journals i have fallen down on this one!!

We have been so busy at the store and our Creative Journey weekend was so much fun! We got a new line of candles in the store called "The Cheerful Giver" really nice candles and wonderful fragrances and the we also got our delicious caramels back in stock!! There is so much new product in the store that its hard to decide what to play with! I made this amazing jewelry box out of a heart shape candy box and i can hardly wait to teach this class!! Michele did this incredible and i mean incredible 7 gypsies drawer box with the collector sticker.......definitely one of my all time favorites, and our new line of wood letters, well the font is so cute that these letters are hard to keep in stock!!

 
 
And in all my spare time i have been organizing and cleaning my room!!

 
So there you have it!! I haven't been sitting around eating bon bons i just haven't been very faithful in my blogging........until next time..ta ta!!

lisa;)

~My Salvation~

Its been another tough week!!! Always after getting back from a trip there is so much to do!! I don't think i have quit doing laundry for 6 days, and between laundry i have been putting away little piles around the house, changing winter clothes for summer clothes and the thing i dread the most.............paper work!!! Now if it were the kind with beautiful colorful scrapbook paper.....that i wouldn't mind!!

And of course being in California made me really miss my mom, she loved going to the antique shops in Old Orange and her favorite ride at Disneyland was "Its a Small World" so being there sparked a lot of sweet memories of things we did together. Despite missing my mom I have found a new way to just let go and relax!!!!!! After having our deck built around our hot tub 6 years ago, Kelly finally got the tub up and running and so every night we go sit in it together and just relax!!!! Now we both want one with more jets!! Its wonderful!!! I don't have a picture of the hot tub but i do have a picture of my other therapeutic toy that seems to take the stress of daily life and cares away!!! Her name is Bella, she is just what the doctor ordered!!

 
Kelly, Kelsie, Bella and Willie.....i love you!!

~The Happiest Place On Earth~

I kept saying that i really had no desire to ever go to Disneyland again in my life and then i went ahead and did it again and i am glad i did!! Traveling with 3 teenagers was a trial within it self all the fighting, nit picking and teasing......aside from that our trip was  great. I love how beautiful and green California is but i can honestly say i wouldn't want to live down there with so many people!!

 
 
That was just Main Street of Disneyland!!!! There were so many people!! I think my favorite part was seeing all of the characters........Pluto, Goofy, Minny, Mickey, Mary Poppins, Donald Duck...... i have to say that was my favorite part (shows my age) as they were all so cute and did such a good job!
 
 
The first day we were there we had walked around and gone on some rides....(Pirates of the Caribbean my favorite) and suddenly there was a little rain shower!! After the rain shower we looked behind where we were standing and this is what we saw!!! Now just tell me, how many times will this ever happen? I have to say.... this was magical!!

 
I took a day for myself and went to "Orange" and shopped and that was really fun, however as unusual as it may seem the only thing i bought was 3 shirts and a plate!! Usually i am trying to figure out how i am going to get all my purchases home from all the great "antique" stores in Orange!! This time.....not so much!!

 
All in all it was a good trip, it was nice to get away the weather was beautiful and i missed Kelly and Bella like crazy.........Home Sweet Home is the place to be!!!

Good Bye Disneyland!!

RUBY 1999-2011

 
Today was another of those not so great Mondays!! We had to put down our sweet Ruby dog! Ruby was our protector, she was the dog you wanted with you when you were alone, she was strong, beautiful and very protective of all of us, she loved to play with willie and bella, she loved to chase squirrels and she really liked to get to go to with dad!!

We will really miss you our sweet Ruby, but you are no longer in pain.....you and hoochie are together again, just know that you will forever be in our hearts, thank you for all the joy you brought to our lives!!

xoxo

~Quick Trip~

This last week Michele, Audrey and I took a quick trip to Salt Lake to pick up stuff for the store, of course we had to add a little fun into the business trip so our first stop was the "Apple" store!!! You see, I ordered the Ipad 2 from our Verizon store on Friday when they were released and it was suppose to be delivered on Saturday!! Well that never happened and it still hasn't happened!! Supposedly they are back ordered for 2 weeks! Anyway, we had Michele's Ipad with us and we had many questions so we went to the store and got this amazingly smart and nice guy Jason to help us!!

Then we went to Anthropolgie

 
and of course the displays there are to die for amazing!! And then we went to this really cute cookie shop that is also at the "Gateway Mall"  After all our shopping and "Apple" instruction we went to dinner at "Buca Di Beppo"  Now if you haven't ever eaten there you need too!! The lemon chicken with capers is to die for, it just doesn't get any better!! Then we headed to our good friends to spend the night, "Hotel Banyai" the hospitality there is like nothing you have ever experienced!!! Homemade date pudding was waiting for us when we arrived......comfy beds with crisp, fresh sheets, fluffy towels and a nice warm shower....what more could you want? The next morning we got up and hit the trail running, Tai Pan, wood, scrapbook store, lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, then off to Sugar House where we went to this really cool store called "Details"

 
This is another "must see" store!! They still have the $500 floor lamp that i want soooooooo bad (at that price they can keep it for awhile longer)!!! Then to two other cute stores!!

Jackie has been brining us these amazing lemon cookies from "Ruby Snap" formerly "Dough Girl" for years and Audrey really wanted to see how cute it was

 
so we made a quick stop there so that Audrey could take a peek and of course get the cookie named "Audrey" to take home with her!!! Then we made one last stop at Hobby Lobby and headed for home!

And that my friends was the extent of our "quick getaway"

lisa;)

Sun Valley 2011

 
A few weeks ago Kelly and i went up north with our friends Dick and Del Capps for dinner at the Pioneer Saloon. The Pioneer has the best prime rib and the bake potatoes are at least 5 pounders ( i prefer the rice and vegetables) that i have ever had since the ROYAL closed!!! We had such a fun time as Del talks more than i do and she is really corney so we laugh a lot!!

 
After dinner we drove around and looked at all the snow and the lights!! It was so pretty up there with all the snow that i was thinking that all of us girls need to have an altered art retreat during the winter so everyone can enjoy the beauty up north!! I love our fall retreat but there is just something kind of "peaceful" up there this time of year!! Just a thought!!

lisa;)

I love you "mom"

 
This is probably one of my favorite pictures of my mom, it was taken when she was 20 years old and i think it is so beautiful!!

It's been exactly one month today at 7:30 am that i told my mom good-bye, it has definitely been one of the hardest things i have ever had to do. Being an only child my mom and i were so close, we had such good times together and in all our years together i can only think of 2 disagreements that we ever had.

Growing up she was the coolest mom ever, i was really no angel but she thought i was!! My mom always trusted me to use my head and make the right decisions and she always held me accountable for my actions, she would NEVER defend me when i was wrong like so many parents do today, she held me accountable.

Being an only parent was hard for my mom, i remember my other friends parents were always at all our softball games and all our school functions or home after school but, my mom had to work. I really think the way my mom raised me has everything to do with the way i live to day. My mom was very wise and always very good with money!!   

I know it's going to be a long, sad, lonely road without her and i am sad that she is gone but the one thing that gives me comfort is knowing that she won't fall again, she isn't alone (i fought with her constantly about that) anymore, she is warm, safe, and with me!!

I love you mom, thanks for being the best mom and ever, i will miss talking to you everyday but i know that you can hear my thoughts and still feel my pain, you will always be my best friend and i love you very much!!

Lisa Paige

1-11-11

 
 One year ago this month i was shopping with my besties in sunny, warm Anaheim!! i am so disappointed that we are going back to California and are not going to be able to go shopping in old Orange!! This time it is a trip to work and work only!! No extra time, no additional friends or family just pure work!!!

But next year.......watch out!! Michele and I are going to paint the town!!