Loss and other yucky things

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. It's been a rough two weeks. My gram was ill and passed away last weekend. My aunt was hospitalized. Nine people in my family got the nasty GI bug. My trainer moved on to another gym (minor in light of my gram's passing, I know, especially since I can keep in touch with him). It was not a fun period, let's just say. I like to look at the positives in even the most negative situations, though. I got to be with my Gram when she took her last breath. I got to hold her hand as she moved on. I have been reminded once again of how many supportive, caring people exist in my life, as the messages of condolence continue to come in and people continue to offer their assistance. My friend gave me a sign for my desk that says, "God only gives us what we can handle. God must think I'm a bad ass." Yeah, that about covers it.

Anyway, before all of the illnesses happened, I sat down and made Matt (my trainer) a quick card to thank him for all he's done for me in the last six or so months. He's a great guy who is awesome at what he does. He's encouraging, compassionate, and yet a bit of a hard ass when he needs to be. He needed to be with me, because I'm stubborn and cranky about the whole working out thing. I think I cursed more than his macho male clients! In fact, I know I did, because he told me so. The poor guy put up with a lot of BS and excuses from me while managing to push me in the right direction. So, I yanked out some of my new Stampscapes stamps and made him the following card:

Masculine cards are so hard for me. That's one of the many reasons I love the Stampscapes line of stamps, because they are quick, easy, and make awesome cards for men. I also like that they still look striking even when they are not colored. In fact, I'm kind of intimidated about coloring them. I mainly use my copics on people and animal images, not so much on these detailed nature images that need a lot of shading and attention to light source. I guess that should be a new crafty resolution of mine: stamp off and then actually color a stampscapes scene. Heck, I'm a bad ass. I can handle it. I think.