Update - July 30: Everything happened very quickly after my last visit to the doctor on July 7. I was told I'd have surgery the next day, on July 8. The latest ultrasound had revealed another cyst on the right ovary. The surgery went well. They successfully removed the tumor, along with my left ovary, and removed the cyst from my right ovary. I was dismissed after 5 days in hospital and have been recovering at home ever since. Sitting is still uncomfortable however I have been able to resume light activities and feel good. I am truly grateful for all your well wishes and your comments left here on my blog. Thank you!

Edited: The specialist has come and gone, still none the wiser. Another ultra-sound scheduled for this Tuesday and back to the specialist this Friday. Surgery is inevitable, just not sure what kind. A heart-felt thank you for all your supporting words.

I have been a little quiet lately, due to some unexpected health problems. After a full week of Emergency Rooms, doctors, ultra-sounds and the discovery of a large bi-lobed cystadenoma on my left ovary, I have been put on a waiting list to see a specialist - this coming Friday - to determine further course of action.

Besides being in pain, I am trying hard not to fill my head with negativity and fears of an undesired outcome. We will have to wait and see.

So for the time being, please excuse my absence and as always, I am very grateful for your visit.

With love,

... is now trying her hand at this: 

{image by Nancy Comelab. Frame available here}

I cannot help but feel a little proud of my first attempt at embroidery. I am learning this new (to me) form of art to make something special for someone I hold very dear. It really is a long way from the girl who could not even thread a needle a couple of months ago.

I will keep you updated!

Have a wonderful week-end,

 

Amidst all the {good} chaos I have managed to bring out a new product at The Lilypad. Meet Totally Rad, a cute little black and white alpha whose only purpose is to make your scrapbook pages look RAD!

To demonstrate it's "coolness" allow me to show you this stunning page of one of my all-time favorite digital scrap-bookers, and Pollywog Extraordinaire, Amanda Wall.

{Layout by Amanda Wall. Visit her gallery here}

I really like how the little alpha stands out against the background and gives great contrast with the colors of the layout, don't you think?

You can pick up your Totally Rad alpha for only US$1.60 during our weekly New Release Weekend Sale at The Pad. 

I wish you all a wonderful week-end and I hope to see you here again soon.

With gratitude,

 

Have you ever done something silly? Something that could easily be avoided had you paid more attention?

*raises hand*

While switching blog platforms, in my hurry I forgot to back up my posts before terminating my Typepad membership. The result? My blog posts - all but one - have disappeared. Gone. Never to be recovered. Poof.

That also means I have lost the comments eligible for my give-away. I am truly sorry for that. Considering I have a huge folder of products I want to share with you all, I will just give away two items on my next post. I hope that will allow me to redeem myself a little. *smiles*

{image source: Holly Becker, Decor8. Frame available here}

Before I sign off tonight I would love to give a little shout-out to Holly Becker, founder and owner of the well-known and -loved Decor8 blog. A little over a month ago I signed up for her Blogging Your Way e-course: an inspirational 4 week, self-paced study course where Holly shares her blogging tips and tricks. If you are following her blog (if not, what are you waiting for? I highly recommend it!) you know Holly is very highly regarded in the online world and brings color, joy and inspiration to all of us on a daily basis. Her e-course is nothing short of brilliant and I have - and still am -  learned so much. As an extra bonus I have met some very wonderful people through this course and I feel truly privileged to have been a part of it all.

Thank you, Holly, for your beautiful spirit and for sharing what you know and learned with your fans. You truly are an inspiration!

As soon as the course finished, I was inspired to re-create my blog to reflect more of my personality. It is still a work in progress so please bear with me while I keep adding and re-arranging things. I wanted to tell you though I have - finally - found a blogging platform that meets all my needs, and then some. Away with all those restrictions! *smiles* Squarespace and I are a match. A match made in heaven. Their platform is not free, however for a small (or large, depending on what you are after) monthly outlay, you get all the advantages of a self-hosted Wordpress blog without the need to learn a single line of code. I repeat: a match made in heaven.

Before I start to sound like a sales rep (who knows, maybe they are recruiting?) I will leave you all tonight with my tightest hugs and warmest wishes for a wonderful day.

Talk soon,

Hello my beautiful friends,

Did you think I was ever coming back? I know it was a long absence but I guess it was needed. Changes happened, plans were made... the holidays came and passed without feeling particularly holiday-ish. Quiet and contemplative into 2009. And here we are now. Ready for a new start. Ready for New Beginnings.

As the year 2008 turned into 2009 I decided to do things differently. No resolutions this time. I must have over 30 lists of resolutions lying around somewhere which are likely to contain much of what would have been added to the current list... if I would have made one. But I did not.

Of course I still have goals and aspirations. As I have left a rather tumultuous year behind, I know I need to get some serious stuff moving. But above all, I need to be easier, gentler, clearer with myself.

This is the year I turn the big "40". Strangely I do not find myself looking forward to this milestone as much as I did when I hit 30 - hard to believe that is already 10 years ago. Admittedly, I am not quite where I imagined I would be. Frankly, I feel a million miles away from where I thought I would be at this point. But I can not let this uneasy feeling get the better of me. I need to keep the little fire burning, keep steering the rudder through the perfect storm. It is never as bad as it seems. That I have learned.

So yes, here I am. New Beginnings. The words sound like music to my ears. Time to surrender... not "give up" surrender but more "go with the flow" surrender. Like a light, green leaf surrendering to the soft breeze carrying it to places known and unknown. Wherever I land, I know I will be grateful for being there. Grateful for what and who I encounter. Grateful.

I am grateful to be back here amongst you, my friends. I hope you will continue to join me on my journey, like I shall join you on yours.

With a grateful heart,