~I WON~I WON~I WON~

I WON the "HONEY" of a GIVEAWAY from Judy at Brocante And Etc.

I am soooo excited as you see, I have won a few giveaways on blogs but never heard a word or received the prize after I contacted them and gave them my address and everything. Kind of a down-er. I have NO DOUBT about this one as I got an email today that it has been sent. I am soooo excited and THANK YOU JUDY for such a neat giveaway!!!!

I haven't heard from Kristi....I won't for 3 weeks...it's going to be one of the longest 21 days in my life. I call her cell phone just to hear her voice, even though they took it from her and shut it off. Pretty soon her mailbox will be full....LOL...and I won't be able to leave messages.

I don't even have an address to write to her as they haven't even been assigned a company yet. Fort Jackson has a website and it's a good source for me to see what they are doing on a weekly basis. So that makes me feel a little bit better. And I have been a bad Mom, I thought I would write everyday, even tho I have no place to send the letters, and well, I haven't had time to write at all. I think that once I get an address, it will be a totally different story.

I went to my 1 year since my LAST CHEMO appointment today....I am PROUD to say I have lost another 12 pounds since June....YIPPY SKIPPY for me and I am LESS than I was when I got cancer. Hey, trust me, I am on NO DIET....I think the stress of everything has done a nice job of melting the pounds off....LOL Everything else is looking good and I am just to keep on, keeping on....

All my Love, Amy

(PS.....last Monday night....I got the SHOP all ready for Christmas....I have sold a lot of it last week already and will be restocking it this week and the next....here is just a little sneak of the pictures I took....of course, it will all look different again when I redo it...LOL)

~AND THE WINNER IS~

AND THE WINNER IS....

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

SHELLEY from SHELLEY'S VINTAGE VARIETY

has won my GIVEAWAY!!! Thank you everyone who entered. I will have another one coming soon with HOLIDAY stuff!!!

Shelley, please send me your address so I can get these sent off to you.

HAPPY HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE,

Amy (who is exhausted and ready for the funny farm)

~A GIVEAWAY & 100's of NEW TREASURES @ FourSistersInACottage.com~

~A FUN FALL GIVEAWAY~ EVERYTHING you see in these 2 pictures are going to be given away to ONE LUCKY WINNER....Just leave a comment on this post and I will add you to the drawing. I will hold it the 1st FRIDAY of OCTOBER. EVERYONE, including those overseas ARE WELCOME TO ENTER. If you can't leave a comment or don't have a blog, feel free to email me and put DRAWING in the subject heading WITH your address in it. It's a bunch of stuff I was messing around with on my computer, some Halloween ribbon and a few other fun things, all paper stuff you can mess around with when you get it. HAVE FUN!!!!

www.FourSistersInACottage.com

AND.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....I Have listed 100's, YES HUNDREDS of New Treasures on the website @ www.foursistersinacottage.com and I have a NEW LOOK I worked on for my front page. Have a look see if you can and you will see my FRONT RED DOOR to the Shop.
I am going to be out of blog land until Friday, only because I have a lot going on around here. I need to take care of some things so please bear with me.
I did get the ONE.....5 minute phone call from Kristi on Friday....let it just be said that it was the worst phone call I have ever had from my kids....between the sobbing and crying on her end, and the constant, "I'm so sorry Mom" comments.....it was all I could take from losing it. I won't go into details but I kept telling her to stay strong, went over some bible verses I sent along with her and told her to pray. That's all I could do....needless to say....it's been a weekend I won't soon forget.
I called her Dad to tell him, his first response was LAUGHTER and in between that he said, "Now she knows what it's like to be in prison".
You don't even want to know what I said after that. Needless to say, I will never speak to that pathetic excuse of a man again, I will leave messages on his answering machine when he is gone at work. I only called him because Kristi asked me to. As my Daddy always said, "You can't out stink a manure pile".....So, my nerves are shot, my brain is dead, and oh, I forgot to mention, THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED SINCE FRIDAY.....I am now OFFICIALLY A HOME SCHOOLING MOM!!!
LOVE and HUGS.... STAY STRONG and PERSEVERE, Amy

~THANK YOU & MY FALL DECOR~

A BIG HUG and THANK YOU to DEB aka GarageSaleGal and to Rachel for their SWEET Hostess gifts for hosting my 1st ever swap. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.....I LOVE IT ALL!!!! Above, from Deb...A cute Halloween Kitchen Towel, 2 DARLING hand made cards from here, A YUMMY Orange Hot Chocolate pack, Pumpkin tissues and wrapped up so cute with sprinkles of Halloween confetti and ORANGE tissue paper. WHAT FUN THAT WAS TO OPEN!!!

THANK YOU DEB....YOU ARE SUCH A SWEETIE!!!
Above is one of my Cupboards filled with my Fall/Halloween Goodies. THE GLITTER STAR with the HAPPY GIRL WITCH (and polka dots of course) was a gift from my SWEET ANNA from MY FLOWER BED when I was in California this past January. THANK YOU ANNA!!!! EVERYONE WANTS THAT STAR!!!!
Part of the 9 foot long fireplace mantel, ready for fall
I made the sign above....I painted the background BLACK, then hand lettered PUMPKINS myself, and of course, I can't leave well enough alone.....I had to add POLKA DOTS to it....I think that topped it off just right!!!!
I don't know if everyone knows how IN LOVE with POLKA DOTS I am and here RACHEL (she doesn't have a blog yet...come girl, please get one....we would ALL love to see your talent, but I met her years ago and she has even been down here to visit me for the weekend with her hubby, she has an adorable family of BOYS!!!!) She made this POLKA-DOT KITTY CAT just for me!!!! THANK YOU RACHEL....She is right at home here and I get to look at her every single day!!!! YOU ROCK GIRLFRIEND!!!!


OKAY.....is that THE BEST Mr. PUMPKIN you have ever seen.....he is OVER 2 FEET TALL and FULL OF GLITTER and CREPE PAPER!!!! I found him at TJMaxx (I never get in there anymore) for only $16.95. He was the ONLY one they had and I knew he had to be the KING of my PUMPKIN COLLECTION.
HAPPY FALL EVERYONE...
I heard from Kristi for the last time for a while late last night when she landed in Colombia, South Carolina. It was almost 11pm their time and she sounded tired, excited and scared. Please say a prayer for here. I have no idea when I will get to hear her voice again.
Hugs and Love, Amy

~Counting Down to Basic Training~

~THE BIG COUNT DOWN TO BASIC TRAINING~

Just a quick hello to everyone and to let you know it's the count down to Kristi leaving for Basic Training. I am NOT taking this well at all. She will be leaving 7:30am Tuesday morning and I will get to see her one last time tomorrow at 4pm.

She wants her boyfriend to take her to the Armory Airport and I'm a little heart broke about that. As we all know, boyfriends come and go....but we will always be their Moms. Maybe someday she will realize that.

Here is a funny thing, her boyfriends mom said to me, in front of Kristi, her boyfriend, my Mom and a bunch of other people at her going away party, "I just can't stand to see Kristi go, I wish it was him going instead of her...." (she said that about her son and in all seriousness too)....What do you say to something like that????

I just need to let her go.....but it's so hard.

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL OF THEM and their Mom's and Dad's TOO!!!!

All my Love, Amy

(on a post script....I LOVE MY ONCOLOGIST....It is my PLASTIC SURGEON, Dr. Emery, that I FIRED...it's HIS NURSE, BETHANY that has been the one who thinks she runs the show. Sad thing is, I DID sit down with him privately and talked with him about her, but he just stuck up for her. So, word of mouth is the BEST advertising....and I HAVE A BIG MOUTH....)

~BREAST Cancer WARNING~ "TIME"~

~TIME~ From L to R: My Baby Brother Jeff, My Mom, My Big Brother Lee, Me and Kristi
Kristi at age 3 1/2, trying on her Uncle Harv's Military Boots and Hat, how ironic!!!

Above are just a few of TONS of pictures I took at Kristi's going away party. I only have a few more days with her before she will become US GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. Where did the TIME GO???? I have been so busy with spending as much time as I can with her and the other girls that I haven't finished the goodies on the website. HOPEFULLY, next week after she is gone I will be able to concentrate on it. Some days I feel like I am going MAD!!!! LOL

I haven't slept, honestly, I am a basket case and have meltdowns constantly. I am just going thru the motions of each day.

"BREAST CANCER WARNING to EVERYONE who has gone thru or will be going thru BREAST CANCER"

I FIRED MY plastic surgeon today. His nurse is a PIECE OF WORK. I got all of my medical records and said SEE YA LATER!!! I have since found out that I am not the only one who is having problems with his nurse. I look back now (because when you are going thru breast cancer and a radical bi lateral mastectomy you really are NOT in your right mind, it's UNCHARTED TERRITORY that you have no idea what to do but do what the doctors tell you to do) and I realize the pain and suffering she put me thru, I just get mad as hell. YES, I tried to talk to her, YES, I privately talked with the doctor. Yet, never an apology, never a sorry I messed up. Just arrogance and a big brush off. Shame on them for all of this and dismissing me like I am just another number.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE SURE you get to talk to YOUR DOCTOR, and NOT THE NURSE when you have BIG QUESTIONS of concern. Looking thru my records, 5 out of every 6 entry is from Nurse B.....not ONCE did she talk to the doctor about it....IT'S ALL IN WRITING TOO!!! I am not quite sure what I am going to do about this but I will be doing SOMETHING!!! If just warning others about this type of practice, and it helps one person, then I feel better.

OH, and get this, the gal that gave me my records, asked me if I was Kristi's Mom.....I said, Yes!!!! And she proceeds to tell me that she is dating Kristi's boyfriends dad who is NOT yet divorced. So, as I leave, I call Kristi to tell her what a small world it is, tell her about that, hang up and my phone rings. It's the GIRL from the OFFICE.....back peddling about how sorry she was about saying anything about Kristi, her boyfriend or his Dad. I find that odd and say no problem.....but as I am sitting in the truck driving home I realize.....WHOA....WAIT A MINUTE.....WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRIVACY ACT that I signed in the office, and EVERY medical office I have been in......she just BREACHED that PRIVACY by talking about ME, to her boyfriend (Kristi's boyfriends dad) and who knows whatever else she said......PLEASE FORGIVE Me for I am not in my right mind right now. I just think it's pretty crappy all the way around.

So really, that part isn't a big deal.....It was un-intentional and so I am letting it go, but the Nurse B thing, I am going to write a letter, to the Doctor and say my peace that way. It's never my intent to hurt anyone, I don't want to be spiteful, I just don't want ANYONE to ever have to go thru what I have gone thru with this nurse. AND IN DEFENSE OF NURSES......I understand, you have to do the job of both nurse and doctor at times, I know you have to weed out the whiners, complainers and such, but I hardly ever called (even my oncologist got after me for NOT calling when I was feeling ill) and when I did, I was dismissed, which is all in the medical records. So, there ya have it...BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF, if you don't NO ONE ELSE WILL!!! And I am the first one to admit, I pretty much have to be on my death bed or in such awful pain before I call a doctor. EVERYONE will tell you that!!!!

Oh, and then I get a call from school that Maddi got in trouble in ART class for SWEARING....she said 'Holy Crap"....and was sent out to the hall and the art teacher said she was crying and she couldn't get her to stop. (she did not say the S word but CRAP) THIS IS THE KICKER.....I walk into the school to get to the bottom of it and the teacher NEVER HEARD her say it, she said another child told her Maddi said it and THE TEACHER has A PIERCED NOSE!!!! What???......My kid is in trouble for saying Holy Crap but you can flaunt a God awful PIERCED NOSE and that's okay???? AND...I find it OFFENSIVE when someone uses the Lords Name in vein, but I think that's okay with the school, so, ....I think I am going to go to school, once again tomorrow and see what exactly is on this "swearing list". By the way, Maddi did say it, and that was wrong if that is their rules, then so be it, but how are you suppose to know the swear word rules when no one has told them to you????? This is a NEW SCHOOL and she is in 1st grade. Oh, now I remember WHY I HOME SCHOOLED MY OLDER GIRLS!!!!

Off to go sit in my favorite Lay-z-boy LEATHER MASSAGE CHAIR I picked up at a sale for $30.00!!!! YEAH.....NO KIDDING.......It's AWESOME for my back and legs and even has heat...oh and did I tell you it's in RED!!!!

KEEP HAPPY, THANKS FOR LETTING ME VENT and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!
Love and Hugs, Amy

~READY FOR FALL & HALLOWEEN~

~~~The SHOP is READY for FALL and HALLOWEEN~~~

If you see anything you are interested in, please let me know as I am busy putting these treasures on the website too!!! I think you can click on each picture and it will enlarge it for you so you can get a good look. Of course there will be better picture at www.FourSistersInACottage.com

Kristi's party was a lot of fun and my back epidural went just fine.....they blew out a vein and I CRIED LIKE A BABY, then guess what, they put the IV in my LEFT INDEX KNUCKLE!!! OUCH!!! Will have picture of the party soon.....The shot in my spinal nerves will take 10 to 14 days to see if they work.

Love and Hugs, Amy

~GRAND OPENING~ WOW WEE!!!!~

WOW WEE!!!! Beyond My Wildest Dreams!!!!

My Grand Opening was a HUGE SUCCESS and I am so thrilled!!!! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE MY DAY SO SPECIAL!!!






A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MY HUBBY BOB, KAREN, MOM & AUNT GERTRUDE FOR HELPING MAKE THE DAY WORK LIKE A WELL OILED WHEEL!!!!





I made the sacks myself and my dear sweet friend "colored" them in for me!!!! I made Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake, Buttercream and Chocolate Cupcakes and Pink Roses Cream Cheese Mints. I had a blast and both Tuesday and Thursday were AWESOME!!!
I am in a bit of a daze and it still seems so surreal. THANK YOU EVERYONE for making my DREAM COME TRUE!!!
I will be busy this weekend re-doing the entire shop for fall and getting ready for Kristi's Goodbye Open House on Sunday. I am also working on the website and will let all of you know when that is ready.
WOW WEE!!! I AM STILL SO EXCITED and in HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY LAND.
(on a footnote, the pain in my back, legs and feet are so bad they had to prescribe a "controlled substance" and I go in on Monday for another epidural spine shot of 2 kinds of steroids. Please pray that this one works, and works for a LONG LONG TIME!!!
Love and Hugs, Amy

~A GOOD LAUGH for Today MY HAIR SO FAR~

JUST THINK.....THIS WAS ME, LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, READY TO GIVE UP on FIGHTING BREAST CANCER!!!!
THIS IS ME TODAY, August 30th, 2008.....The FIRST TIME EVER that I used a BLOW DRYER on my hair since I lost all my hair last year....I am laughing because it is HYSTERICAL and I look like a CLOWN.....I thought you would enjoy the laugh with me!!!! THEN, I decided to try my hand at STRAIGHTENING MY HAIR......LOL.....At first it looked like Tina Turner hair.....but I just wanted to see how long it really was without all those curls....
I think I like the curls better!!!! But HOW FUN to know I can wear it any way I want, last year, it was bandannas and hats!!!!



Oh, and look at those BIG BOOBS, I call them MY GIRLS!!!! ROFLOL!!!! Had to get them in the picture too!!! Cause they weren't there last year at this time either.

Okay, back to work.....I am down to the count down and I have tons to do!!!!

Love and Hugs to all of you.....

Amy

~1st Day of School~ Vera Bradley~Halloween Swap~Happy 17th Birthday Alli~

~HAPPY 1st DAY in 1st GRADE Ms. MADDI~ ~She's a card, in front of the camera.....remind you of someone you know??? Big Sister Kristi and maybe Mom too!!! 1st day of school was great.....and Maddi was happy to see old friends from Kindergarten. She is going to a NEW BIG School this year, 1st thru 5th grade. But she doesn't see the big kids, as they are in another part of the building. WHEW!!!! Those kids are so big compared to our little 1st graders. AND....it's ALLI's 17th BIRTHDAY TODAY....she is sick....darn it, but her party is this Friday, over night....with a bunch of giggly 11th grade girls. And next week is Kristi's going away to boot camp party. NEVER A DULL MOMENT HERE...it's like I am catching up for everything I couldn't do last year with the cancer.

THIS HUGE COLLECTION of RETIRED VERA BRADLEY Totes, Purses and Sting Wallets are on our ebay auctions for just $9.99/No Reserve. Click here to have a look!!!!

I am still working on the swap, Please note, SIGN UP IS CLOSED, I reached the limit, PLUS SOME, and have emailed or left comments to everyone who is in. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE. AND I am still trying to get the shop ready for Tuesday.....if you saw it now....you would say, THERE IS NO WAY she will be ready by then....LOL...I sold the big table and it's gone...so I have a BIG space to fill. FUN FUN FUN!!! Off to mark more pretties, wish you were all here to celebrate with me on Tuesday. I won't be posting again until after the GRAND OPENING.....and will have pictures.
Hugs and Love, Amy

~A GIVEAWAY~

URBAN CHIC BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!!!!

QUICK....get over to Pat's, from the URBAN CHIC as she is having a BIRTHDAY Giveaway...HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!

Ends Friday.....Hugs and Love, Amy

~Tuesday~

"PEACEMAKERS" "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" Matthew 5:9

This bible verse was sent to me today from a dear friend and when I read it, it gave me chills as it was 1 of 3 verses my Dad had written with his obituary.

We were talking of Kristi and how scared I am for her and how she dropped on me yesterday that she really signed up for 8...YES EIGHT YEARS!!!! Not 6, like she originally told me.

I am hanging in there and I got to thinking in the past few days....a couple things of why I am taking this so hard.....

#1.....I know, from the root of my being, how terrible it feels, and what it does to your heart and mind, to be STUCK, in a place, where you have NO OUT. No, options, feeling cornered, feeling helpless with your situation. I don't ever want her to be in that place and I am concerned about 8 years of a commitment to the military for her.

#2......At least with my cancer, I COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!! With Kristi being 18, not really realizing what she is getting herself into, me being a military wife for 12 years (and being intimidated by the whole thing in the first several years....and I was only the wife...I wasn't even enlisted...LOL), there is nothing I can do, not now, not later, not ever. I just feel so helpless.

Believe it or not, I was able to get 2 coats of RED PAINT on my front door of my shop, yesterday....it's all I got done. My get up and go, has gone up and went with this whole thing.....THIS TOO, SHALL PASS.....and I will accept it alittle more everyday.

By the way, DOES ANYONE LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS????
Kristi will be there for 5 months and I plan on driving down to see her (this will be after basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina). IF SO, I would love to meet for coffee, tea or food!!!!
MAKE IT A GREAT DAY TODAY......the girls will all be here tonight and plan on spending the night....I know we will be up late eating food, laughing and talking...

HUGS and LOVE, AMY

(PS.....I have added the pretty graphics below....please feel free to take them)

~ GOD BLESS OUR TROOP~

~PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM & OUR ENEMIES~

~SUNDAY~

~SUNDAY~
Nothing but a blurb today on my post. I am working on marking everything in the shop in hopes of opening to the public in September. I am having so much fun making each tag and getting ready.

Below is just a sneak peek of what's coming next on the website. This is one of my views from where I sit and talk with all of you. Coming in here makes me HAPPY and I look forward to it changing as the treasures leave and go to their new loving homes.

Uncle Duane's Funeral Service was very nice. I held it together until the 21 gun salute and the lone bugle guard played "TAPS". I lost it as I think everyone else did too.

On a HAPPIER NOTE, Have a great day today, I am going to PAINT my FRONT SHOP DOOR in a PATRIOTIC RED, if the rain holds off today, I would like to get that done too. (in between all the company I have coming today)

Hugs and Love, Amy

~PS~

Today, My Kristi Girl, swears in to join the Army National Guard.

Please, Please say a prayer for her and me. I am heartsick that she decided to not take her 3 year scholarship to AIB to become a Federal Court Reporter and instead joined for 6 years to serve our country. You are probably as surprised as I am.....I don't think she understands the full realm of what she is doing. She has never been away from home and will be gone for 7 months for basic training and then off to AIT.
I looked to the sky and said to God, "Haven't I had enough already?"

I know He has plans for her, ones I cannot see or know and I need to find some comfort in that. In the meantime, I think it is only human to have a heavy heart when this decision of hers came out of the blue.

When I found out, just 3 weeks ago, I don't know what was worst, watching my Dad die from cancer, getting cancer myself, or watching my baby girl go off into the military.
You see, there is not one Iowa Guard Unit that hasn't gone to Iraq or Afghanistan and that is why my heart is heavy.

Please pray for her, pray for our troops and pray I find something positive in this whole ciaos that I am going through. And please don't blast me for being upset, I am from an Army and Marines Military family and I was an Air Force Wife for 12 years. So I am very pro-military. I am just in shock over the whole thing.

Hugs and Love, Amy