Hold Your Breath!!

Happy Thursday Everyone!  Today I turn the BIG 3-8...yeah yeah I know you are all chuckling saying I'm still a baby but today I realize I'm realllllllly in my late-thirties LOL, no longer early thirties and 40 is looming...ack!  I have to say I'm not really looking forward to turning 40 in two years...I have loved my thirties a lot and I certainly don't want to go back to my twenties.  I think the twenties you do a lot of growing up, make lots of mistakes along the way and really start learning who "you" are.  I spent my 30th birthday in the hospital after having abdominal surgery so it really wasn't that big of a deal for me.  I'd had kids in my early twenties so I always felt older anyway and I think part of that was having siblings that were so much older than me (11 years).  I grew up more like an only child and was around adults a lot, so I always preferred to be around older people.  My husband is 7 years older than me and most of my very bestest friends are 8-15 years older than me.  So really turning 40 shouldn't be a big deal right?  Yeah well on May 3, 2014 I will be on an island and no one better bring up my birthday that day...I'll pretend its just a normal day and keep on rolling LOL!

On the other hand turning 38 today is gonna be fun! I'm in Vegas with some friends and we are spending the day shopping and laying by the pool and going to Serenditpity 3.  My family watches "Tanked" (the show about the over-the-top aquarium builders that are here in Vegas) and they built a huge gumball aquarium for the front of Serendipity and I MUST see it LOL.  Then we will go out for dinner and do some clubbing...I like nothing more than listening to good music and dancing..and no I won't drink as it makes me sleepy and I'm not much of a drinker anywho but I will have a glass of yummy wine at dinner LOL.  Last night we went and saw Criss Angel & Cirque du Soleil called "Believe" at the Luxor which was really good...I enjoyed it.

What have I learned in my thirties?  I've learned to have a whole LOT more patience, things that used to rile me up I now can brush off and move on.  I've learned that not everyone in life is gonna like you, for whatever reason and its OK.  I'm at the point now where I'm like "if you don't like me for any pre-conceived reason, well I don't really give a damn" LOL.  As long as I like myself and know that the person looking back at me in the mirror is someone who loves, someone who cares, someone who is kind and someone that has values that matter...that's all that matters to me.  I've learned that friends are the family you get to choose, cherish them, take the time to nourish them.  I'm so thankful for the friends I have in my life...they've got my back no matter what and I've got theirs.  They don't judge me, nor I of them.  And I've learned that laughter and smiles take you a long way in life...having a bad day, call a friend and share a laugh...it helps.  I've learned that family is the UT-MOST important thing in life...if you don't love and have the love of your family then life doesn't matter as much.  I've learned that kids grow up quickly, so you gotta really pay attention to all those moments and days and times you spend with them...value it even if sometimes you wanna pull your hair out & run down the street screaming (amen...oh yeah I have days like that lol).  That having a loving, caring & supportive spouse is a gift I am beyond thankful to have in my life...he's my bestest friend, my soul-mate and one love!  I value quality time with my family so much more now, really making sure to live in the moment and cherish it all.  I know that life can be short, and sometimes cruel and punishing and poof it can all be gone in one brief moment.  So I've learned to have "YOLO" as my mantra (and its a small tattoo I have too, shhhh don't tell my mama..she'll whip me)...You Only Live Once...its something I repeat every day...even making the most out of a trip to the post office.  Hey along the way you could do a good deed, someone could do something really nice for you or you could just have a cheerful conversation with someone for 2 mins.  I know when my feet hit the floor (whether they are tired feet or not) that I am happy they touched the floor...I'm alive to enjoy another day...and no matter what happens I will be thankful for that opportunity.  I've learned that life IS one BIG opportunity...an opportunity to enjoy it, embrace it, live it, love it and remember that is is "OURS"!  I've learned you HAVE to live your life for yourself, it was given to YOU, you cannot live your life for someone else...you will never be truly happy.  Yes you can live a life that includes someone else or a life that makes others happy but in the end its YOUR life and the only one you get.  Take charge of it and I truly believe that if you love yourself and are happy with yourself and your life...then others will take notice and be happy to.  And to me that is the most important thing I learned and embraced in my thirties. I am 100% happy with my life even the bad stuff as it teaches us lessons, sometimes hard ones, but it makes us who we are and it makes us stronger and hopefully makes us a better person.  So yes my glass is ALWAYS half full, I'm usually always smiling and yep tomorrow will be a great day too and the next and the next as long as I'm alive living it.  So yeah when 40 comes it will hurt just a bit...but I'll be grateful that I'm alive to enjoy it!  So I'm off to have an EXCELLENT day and hope you are too :)

And for anyone else that has a birthday this week....big Happy Birthday Wishes to you...hope its fab!  And my pal Marti's birthday is tomorrow too...hope its fabulous!!


**If you get the chance my wonderful girls at my CMC Challenge DT have put on a blog hop for me today.  They each made cards they thought "represented" me LOL and they're telling my secrets and stories....I'm not sure whether to shoot them or hug them LOL...but you are sure to find it entertaining.  Start with my pal Tina's Blog Here!!

Alexa's Bday Slideshow:

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Under the Sea!!!

Today I'm sharing a super-fun project with you that I created for the May Magnolia-licious DT Challenge that I am hostess of this month.  I've challenged everyone to make a summertime themed project with a twist (the twist is optional of course)...twist is to use variations of blues, oranges and yellows on their projects.  I love this color combo...it screams SUMMER to me and it just is CHEERY.  I hadn't had a chance to use this Magnolia cutie yet but thought it would be a perfect match for this month!  You can find all the details for the challenge & see the DT's projects at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Crafts & Me (fave colors)

Simon Says Stamps (birthday)

Truly Scrumptious (dies/distress)

City Crafter Challenge (text & tulle)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

I started with a base of a circle card and then had fun adding to it.  I always start with a semi-vision of what I want in my head...and then usually it just takes a life of its own LOL!  This cutie is called "Swimming Tilda" and isn't she fun?  (you can find the mini version here too) and they are from the Winner Takes All Collection found here at Magnolia-licious.  The papers on this are all from Authentique "Gathering" which used my color theme.  I distressed most of the papers with my Zutter Distress machine.  I used some tulle that I burned with a match...omgosh I love to do that...I'm like a mini-pyromaniac LOL but I love the curled up texture it gives it.  The scrolls are done with a Magnolia Doohickey die then I inked them with some blue ink and added "water bubbles" with my Diamond Glaze.   And that fabulous "Under the Sea" was done on YES my new Silhouette Cameo machine...I am so loving that machine and its so easy to use too!  I inked it with blue and orange inks and added more water bubbles to it as well.

The coral and starfish were cut out with my Slice, then inked, stickled and put on with dimensionals...the starfish got a coat of Straw Distress Stickles for more texture.

She was colored with Copics: BG72,BG11,BG10 / E11,E00 / E35,E31,E50 / YR15,YR12,YR01.  And then I added some more Diamond Glaze to her snorkel mask and bubbles, stickles to her bathing suit and around edges of circle...you can never have enough sparkle!

That's it for me today...hope you enjoyed my rambling birthday post LOL!  See you later gators!