Consider the Source or say 'Stop'?

Most of this appears on my weight loss blog, here. It has been on my mind so much, it merits posting on both blogs.

Normally the opinions of others don't bother me too much. I can't say that I'm completely immune, but I know WHO I am and how far I've come, both in regards to weight and many other areas of my life. If a person calls me ugly, fat, stupid, etc., I am more apt to wonder what is going on with them that prompted that outburst than worried that I am any of those things.

Sometimes the person has no idea what you have experienced and what they said struck a nerve that they never intended to strike. I am not so thin skinned that I personalize all comments and opinions. I grew up hearing "consider the source" and this usually carries me through.

As someone who has always done arts and crafts, I've heard more times than I can count "you have too much time on your hands".  Really? Someone is monitoring my time and making a judgement? My father's words about being better than others when it comes to rudeness is the only thing that prevented me from telling one woman (a frequent repeater of that phrase) that she could get a few things done too if she got out of the bars a few nights per week.

I may not speak retaliatory slurs but I do think them. Usually I can let it go after that.

We all have people that we must continue to work with or around. Relatives, neighbors and co-workers can't be avoided forever. I do not like confrontations but sometimes enough is enough. At what point do you hold out your hand and say STOP?

Many things have popped up on Facebook or been encountered on Pinterest that seem to be speaking directly to me on this. If you stepped on my toe once, I'd assume it was an accident. If you didn't apologize, I would think you hadn't noticed. If you repeatedly did this, I'd say something before you bruised or broke my toe. That is where I am, it is time to say something. If speaking up ends what is left of a relationship, it will be a parting long overdue.

These first four graphics are what I feel and what I smile about before I can get to the last three.

And finally....Bingo!

Not your typical birthday balloons

Birthdays and balloons go together, right?

These are a bit different. They don't have helium and they don't hold just my breath. They each hold some money.

In keeping with the tradition for our great niece and great nephews, we give them cash, but not just money in a card. If you look for 'Money as gifts' on this blog, you'll see a few of the other ideas I've used. There is a search box to the right.

This gift was easy, especially if you'll full of hot air!

The stamp used on the card is from Stephanie Barnard's Stamps of Life. The greeting inside is for a "whaley" Happy Birthday. 

Long dog greetings

One of my adult nieces has a dachshund who is the joy of her life. What could be more appropriate for her than a birthday card featuring a long brown dog?

I wish I had saved my notes on what I used, but in a rush to clean up before leaving for the cottage, I threw them away. This will be a test of my memory. 

The card a 12" strip of white card stock folded into thirds. The height of the card is 5.5 inches.

The body of the dog began as 1" strip of brown paper but after I decided to shade the dog with the lighter paper, I narrowed that strip a bit. The legs and neck were cut with the Word Window Punch from Stampin' Up. The head is a heart punch, the eyes and nose were from the Owl Builder with the nose trimmed down a bit. The feet are wings from the Bird Builder with the poinitest part trimmed off. The ears used the wing part of that punch also. I don't remember which circle punch I used on the tail, but I punched the paper once to get a circle (saved for another use) and then punched over that area again to get a crescent shaped tail. The pup's brow looked too furrowed with just a heart shaped face so there is part of a circle behind the heart for the top of his head.

The Happy Birthday is from the Big Day stamp set, the martini is from Happy Hour and I used Word Window and Modern Label for the message under the dog's belly that reads "Have a teeny wienie Martini".

I struggled with wondering if the background was too plain and the fear of overdoing it and junking it up. I used a brown marker to make a stitching line around the card and called it quits. The birthday girl was happy and that is what mattered.