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I think one of the greatest challenges for a new widow is taking on new responsibilities while going through the grieving process. Often, married couples share responsibilities with each other. When a spouse dies, all the responsibilities are transfered to the surviving spouse. Suddenly, the surviving spouse is left with not only sadness, but a whole list of things that need to be done. Luckily, I continue to receive support from those that love us. I'm very grateful to have such wonderful, caring people in my life. 

Last Monday, my father helped me choose a new health insurance plan. We sat down with an insurance agent and discussed various plans. We found one that we thought was a good fit for me and Ethan. I put down a deposit in hopes of getting an approval. Our medical records will be reviewed by the insurance company over the next week. We'll get the "yes" or "no" in a week in half. Keepen' my fingers crossed.

Last Tuesday, I sat down with a social security agent and discussed widower's benefits. It was my first time visiting the social security office. I had to locate the office in downtown, St.Paul. Not my favorite place to drive, but it needed to get done. I found it after asking a few people for the exact building location. I was able to find the street, but the building numbers weren't obvious. Once I got in the building, I went up to the 8th floor and walked into a crowded room full of people. I did have an appointment, so I was able to get in quickly, though I was still surprised by the number of people there. Where did they all come from? I didn't see them outside the building. Why were they all there? I'm so unfamiliar with this process. I answered all the usual questions. Where were you born? What's your son's birth date? Blah. Blah. Blah. It took about an hour in half to finish the application process. When I left the building and walked back to the parking ramp, I couldn't find my car. It was below zero and I couldn't remember for the life of me where I parked my car. It took me twenty minutes to find it. I kept telling myself that I should of worn my scarf like I usually do. Of course, I didn't. I felt sooo relieved when I found it. 2nd floor on the right. Back in my car, warm, and done with social security. On to the next step please...

Today, I had a meeting with a big'ol company. Can't divulge info here, but I'm excited by the opportunities that lie ahead of me right now. Seeking out a career. It's all part of rebuilding my life, my future, and creating security for my small family.

I've been scrapbooking on and off over this last week. After finishing up my assignment with Studio Calico for February, I started working on a personal layout. I finished it up last night. It took me a couple of nights to complete this one. It's bright and whimsical. KittyKat'alicious. I have one cat in my home (actually, I have five cats...yes, I'm the crazy cat lady, but blame it on the cat clinic I worked at for four years as a vet tech) that follows me everywhere. She's my little stalker. I luv her to no end though, and she's got quite the social side. She loves to cuddle, give kisses, and sleep next to people or "on people" ever chance she gets. Her name is Amber. When I was giving Ethan a bath last week, she sat in the bathroom with us the whole time. She made herself present at one moment by sitting on the toilet. I grabbed my camera cause she looked so funny just sitting there staring at me while I was trying to bathe my little guy. The photo is quite comical. Take a peek:

I want to share a really nifty photo editing technique I found in the latest Photoshop Elements magazine that showed up in my mail box this week. It's quick and easy. If you're looken' to make the colors in your photos "pop" a bit, try this on for size using Photoshop Elements 5 or 6:

• Press "D" to set Foreground colors to their defaults
• Add a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer (don't change anything in this box, just press "ok".)
• Change Blend Mode of the adjustment layer in the Layers palette to either Soft Light or Luminosity.
• Lower the Opacity of the adjustment layer until you get the look you want.

I used this photo editing technique on the above photo in this layout. I think the results are great..but be careful, it's good on some photos and not others. Play around and find what works best for your photo. You may have to decrease the Opacity level quite a bit.

These circles were hand cut out from a sheet of Scenic Route pattern paper. I then adhered them onto light blue cardstock and cut around the circles to create a light blue border. I added a Fiskars transparent epoxy dot to each circle after adhering them to my page.

The title on this layout really stands out, even though the background it sits on is busy. How do you make letters pop if the background is busy?  Note the pink ledger square and the orange curvy label under the letters "V" & "I" and "O" & "R". If the background of the layout is a bold, pattern sheet of paper, create a visual border around your title using background elements such as the ones I've used here. You can use labels, simple pattern paper, cardstock, or frames. Anything that will bring attention to the title and separate it from the background.

Combining rub-ons again. These are Hambly made rub-on birds with Jenny Bowlin cream rub-on stars.

I hand-cut these circles and then cut them in half (to get two pieces from each circle) to create a frame for the photo. I intentionally cut them lopsided and not-so-perfect. I combined them with Elsie KI Memories Epoxy stickers (cut them in half too). Gives the frame a little variety and flair. Beware when you're cutting epoxy stickers though..takes a good muscle or two to get one to cut in half.

Got out the doodle pens again. These are actually rub-on swirls from the Creative Cafe collection. I used my good'ol souffle pink pen to color in the loops.I then used a gold gel pen to add dots along swirling path. The pink dotted scallop border along the top is a transparency frame that I cut int pieces to create one long border. I used the amazing Glue Dots Vellum adhesive to get them to stick to the page..it's one of my favorite adhesive products. Use it on all my transparency items.

Along the top edge of the olive color cardstock, I tore it and rolled it. I then coated it with some brilliance ink (using a brilliance ink pad-direct method-pad to paper edge-lightly brush it on) and then topped it off with Ranger Distress Ink in "walnut". I got a little messy with it. Sometimes, it's just fun to let go when the right layout comes around for that kind of thing. This one was all about "letting go".

Last, but not least, I got the stamps out for this layout. Added a seam line to the ribbon to make it look more real. Kept it subtle and simple.

Going to gather some things together to crop this Friday. Really excited about it. Got the last spot cause I signed up at the last minute. That's what happens when one attempts to find a babysitter on a Wednesday, two days before the crop. Guess it's a good time to start packing for the event. Gonna need two days to do it. Laugh. Take care everyone!