The Gift of Sight-Shades of CTMH

Sunday before last, I read this article in the Sacramento Bee about Connie's Crew.

The first words that smacked me in the face were Breast Cancer…then when I recovered from that, the next words to create a dew on my forehead was High School friends and then the sight that made my heart go pitter-patter was the youngest boy wearing glasses.

Now all of the above are things close to my heart. Most of you know I am a 12 year Survivor of Breast Cancer…some know that my support system and Venti (biggest) fans were my High School buds…and then of course, I am in the Vision world professionally.

We hear about Breast Cancer every.single.day. 1 in 8 women will be affected by invasive  Breast Cancer in her lifetime. I am not immune to the data or facts. I am emotionally touched by every person (not just women) who are affected. I can't do something for every single one…I go for the gusto and support those whose mission is to the find the cure.
Had a ever met her? Nope. Ever shared space in a Starbucks with her? Nope.
But sometimes….somethings….and one someone catches my heart and grabs it worse than a childbearing contraction. This article about this woman did just that.

I have an awesome employer that does awesome things Community based.
Yes, sometimes I don't have pleasant thoughts about the job per se, but you can't beat an employer that gives so much, whether disaster victims, local sports sponsorships, and scholarships, Wellness Clinics for Vets, Team Sponsorships for the SGKomen Race for the Cure, Walk for Diabetes, March of Dimes and more. Let's not forget Cake Day every month, and believe it or not Bonuses!

One thing new this year was H.E.L.P (Healthy Eye Laision Program) for the employees. We are each given one Gift Certificate to share with anyone…friend, family or stranger for an eye exam and glasses. Well…you guessed it. This was THE thing I could do for Connie and her family. Four of my Team Members when asked, didn't hesitate to volunteer theirs so that we could have a total of five.

This past Saturday night was the Benefit Concert and Silent Auction Fundraiser and I was honored and humbled to deliver these to Connie.

So I voluntold my Cricut machine to make some cute decor for each Gift Certificate

And I delivered them…in a Tu-Tu…as the Vision Fairy

Later I will share the reactions of those around me as I left a touch of glitter on everyone.

New Papers and fun things!

Don't forget to take advantage of the GREAT special this month ending 8/31/11. For more info following this post then head over to my website to order yours!

And now some New Papers:
You'll be surprised by this kit called Roxie…fun, and funky!
And if you look carefully, you'll see the newly designed heavier, DUAL sided Background Papers from Close to My Heart!

And here's some fun and funky things you can make with it!

Finally some artwork using the same papers from our Convention in Anaheim last month…

Yes, We are Proud to Be an Apache!

Occasionally, a group of us who attended Encina High School (back when it was a GOOD school) get together. By occasionally, I mean any excuse we can think of ie: birthdays, warm weather, end of school year, or when we're bored with our every day lives…

So last nite we did…ie;  someone had a birthday, the warm weather arrived and our college-aged kids are now out of school and we were bored with our every day lives.

I do love getting together with our group…we have endured a lot since our High School days within our group..marriages, death, new relationships, etc. And we can truly commisserate with each other and give new perspective to why our years at Encina were either the happiest of our lives or the worst.

For some reason last night, confession time appeared after a few bottles of wine, Lemon Drop martinis and dinner.
Most of those there told me they were actually AFRAID of me! I found that sooo funny! Not because I wore studs, boots and carried a weapon or anything like that. Just the unknown about me…even though we had classes together, went to school games, dances, and took part in many assemblies showing our Apache pride, they all knew my name, but didn't "know" me. Hence, fear.

I had to set them straight…I never killed anyone and buried the bodies in our football field. I never dumped a shorter person in the garbage cans. And my one and only attempt to have a Kager party fell through because my grandmother needed a perm and my dad wanted to paint our bedroom ceilings instead of going out of town, NOT because I wanted all that beer for myself and my boyfriend!

It was nice to clear the air after all these years indeed.

The 3 Muskateers…40 years later!

40 years ago:
I was a puny freshman in High School and met up with these 2 others.
As the world around us was changing, we endured many things in those few short years that we were inseparable…wars, presidential failures, women's rights coming to the forefront again…how hormones defined us or ruled us.
There was a lot more hair involved…and a lot less weight for a couple of us.
We were not wild rich kids but lived in a beautiful newly developed area only a few blocks apart.
There were no cell phones, or computers only the iconic telephone that we hung on for hours even after just leaving each at the bus stop.

One Day ago:
We reunited.
The reunion involved tears, laughter, great food and I'm pretty sure, a lot of alcohol.
We found out that other than a few years out of the 40, we were within 30 miles of each other and never knew it.
We shared the loss of loved ones, family dynamics, our careers, and tried to solve many current social issues as well.
We all sound EXACTLY the same as we did 40 years ago but would not have recognized each other walking down the street.
There are now 2 new sets of email addresses, cell phone numbers and home addresses in my phone and I will GPS them a couple times a week to know I haven't lost track of them again.

Encina Apaches Alumni

Ever year, my Alumni does a fund-raiser for our beloved Encina High School in Sacramento.
It's the Old guys (aka Alumni) vs the current Varsity team.
In 10 years, we have raised over $400k...all from email pledges.
Friday nite was THE nite:

The alumni lost a heartbreaker on Friday night...

 

After leading by as much as 17 points in the third quarter, and by 13 points with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter, the alumni were unable to handle the relentless full court press of the varsity team. Forcing turnovers, they whittled away at the alumni lead, finally taking the lead for the first time with 1:50 left in the game. The alumni fought back, with Erickson Aquino 95 making 4 straight free throws to tie the game 65-65 with 42 seconds left. But the varsity prevailed, winning 71-65.

 

In spite of the result, this was a fun and exciting game to watch. The alumni had speed and deadly shooting this year, but the youth of the varsity team and their second half press won out.

 

At's ok...we need to "let" the young guys win once in awhile!

This year, despite the economy, we raised an impressive $29K !!!

As usual, an after-game get together happens. This year I met up with a friend I've known since the 8th grade and haven't seen in about 6 years.

We DID celebrate THAT!

Here's some highlights....

This is pre-game at the free BBQ dinner with Steve Palmer, one of the even co-ordinators.

I simply refused to wear an old cheer outfit...no matter how much anyone pledged!

Then we went into the remodeled gym ($30m  and no a/c!)

Smile and wave Martha! This is what we USE to do at games, right?

This is me trying to get the Alumni excited and enthusiastic when the score took a dump on our side...

Yes, yes...I know sitting on the Apache logo is like sacraligious...but them seats are hard on old butts!

We had a great time even though...well you know...we lost! But I hopefully gained a old friend back.

Volunteer Service Day

It was a coincidence that my high school Alumni Challenge Basketball game fell during Nat'l Volunteer Week.
So I'm off today performing service for others; the K-6 school where I use to work and of course this evening, the best basketball venue out there.

click here for a quick refresher
and click here for visit to my alumni info

I am fortunate that the company I work for offers 8 hours PAID per year for Volunteer Service. It's a shame that a lot of my co-workers do not take advantage of it.
Give me a kid and a book any day! This love of reading to/with children came from my childhood love of reading and taking on the charachter's accents, mannerisms, etc.
It's where my dream of drama exists. It's why when my own daughter was small, it would not do to just read the words on a page from her favorite story...oh no...I had to BE the charachter, too...no matter how tired I was from the working, cooking, cleaning.
And it was just fine with me.

If you have the day to give, visit this website for ideas on how to serve for
Nat'l Volunteer Week

Have a great service day!

Homecoming 2008

Homecoming...that word can mean a lot of things. But for me, it's a fun night with my Alumni of Encina High School that I always look forward to.

The Apaches, of course, have been replaced by the Bulldogs, but that doesn't mean that we have any less spirit.

Kudos to the Dawgs...not only did they produce a pretty darn good float for the Alumni, but they won the game 56-36!!







We did what we do best BEFORE the game!

Here's to the "old" guys!

Back to my Alma Mater, Encina High School for our 8th Annual Alumni Challenge.
Reflecting on the days of high school, some either hated it or considered it the best years of their lives.
For me, it was fun....full of activities (not always centered around sports). We were free to come and go on campus, and on any given day, something was always going on after school. We were priviledged to have a huge regulation pool, tennis courts, hand-ball courts, baseball diamond, weight room, music, drama, art, auto and wood shops. We even had simulators and real cars for Driver's-Ed!

Give us an excuse for a Pep Rally and we were all in for it. All four classes. Signs in the gym were a plenty. Spirit was unmeasurable for the Fighting Apaches!

Fast foward 26 years.
Politically correct regs changed our beloved mascot to a a four-legged butt sniffer complete with a metal studded collar. (I'm sure the spirits of warriors were rumbling in the there-after)
Fabulous pool? filled with dirt and covered.
Tennis courts? cracked, net-less weed filled cement.
Music, Drama Dept.? Closed and shut down.
Driver's Ed? Dial Bond Driving School and hope for an appointment before your 21st birthday.
I daresay the Art Dept survived because this gave the students an avenue to sell their wares, thus generating some desperately needed funding.

A group of Alumni (aka "old" guys) hatched an idea to have a BBQ and Basketball game with the intention of raising some money for the Sports Dept. And to make it interesting, let's have the current Varsity Team participate.
In 2000, the Annual Alumni Challenge debuted. Emails burned up cyber space with pledges and donations, and if nothing else, it was a great way to reconnect with a lot of former classmates.
A great time was had by all, and we raised an impressive $15,000.00!!!

Fast forward another 8 years, and the total amount raised so far has been over $340,000!!!

I haven't missed a game....I must say each game has been better than the year before. We've endured shattered backstops, injuries, nail-biting-double-overtime endings, unfair ref calls (come on!...give us a break...we're OLD!) and most recently the passing of one memorable Alumni. Each year proves that you don't need to bake and sell cookies, sell gift wrap or magazine subscriptions to bring in desperate moneys for programs for a school.
It's not all about Sports as it started....ALL departments benefit now as well as scholarships.

For all the Sacramento Kings and Monarch's games I have attended, I've never felt such an immense pride in the players as I do watching and cheering on our Alumni ...
I'll never waste the $10 on parking, or a $6 beer at a "pro" game again.
I'd rather save that money and drop it in the bucket for a better cause...
the kids at Encina High School.
They may not be as enriched with the times as we were, but they can surely become enriched by those that have come before them.

Oh...and this year's game? As you can see from the score board, it was another riveting ending and the total amount pledged was $45,000.!!!!

Class of 1974 and the Fighting Apaches

Another Tradition...

and it's NOT March Madness...but close!

Every April, the Alumni of my High School have a one-time fund raiser.
A team of Alumni (Apaches) players and the current Varsity (Bulldogs) team square off in a Basketball game.

Now just because the Alumni are "old", that doesn't mean we don't give the kids a run for their money...oh did I mention that we've raised an average of $50k each year just by emails alone?
Hard to believe this year will be the Encina High School 8th Annual Alumni Challenge!
(please take a peek at that link....you'll just be simply amazed at this very fun, but worthy event!!)
Every year proves to be a true fingernail knawing, knuckle cracking, rockin game!
I have perpetual layouts of a lot of my Reunion group of friends and sometimes I do include pics from the games, too.

One year after reading Donna Downey's "Yes! It's a Scrapbook", I wanted to find a way to put together what few pictures I have from High School. When I started to gather the pictures, much to my dismay, I found there's nar' but a few...however, I had TONS of memories.
So how do you capture the memories of school?
In a LUNCH box album, of course!!!
Here's the cover page (for lack of a better word)
This is the front of good ol Encina High School (we ARE the mighty APACHES;
here are some of the pages in no PAR-tic-U-lar order...

Now these are just 3 out of the four "class" photos (please for the love of God do NOT look too closely....)
A close up of the roads traveled to and from school (you'll notice the side street named "Hood" highlighted with a circle tag...sort of dejavu, eh?)
And of course the ROCKIN' Gremlin I use to drive the last few years of school (had to share with Dad, of course)
Now this is where scrappers get to take a creative license (pun intended)...I didn't have a photo of our Gremlin, so I "googled" Gremlin and lo and behold! there's actually a Gremlin fanatics website, so downloaded a photo of the the same style, printed it out and reversed sponged the color same as ours! haha oh, the cleverness of me!!!!
This is how I "documented" my memories...just started typing and man! I filled at least 4 of the pages! haha
The very last page of the memory pop ups have our school Alma Mata and Fight Songs.
This last one...shows my sister and I at her wedding (the first one! stab, jab, snark)
But my favorite photo is the one on the right...it's my long time friend Peggy...I will be visiting her this summer in Florida on the 21st anniversary of the LAST time I saw her!
The Sunshine of My Life is my Junior Prom Bid.
Well, thanks for taking a short walk down 4 years of my High School Memory Lunch Box!

The Big 5.OhS!

Before you start singing Happy Birthday, this was last years' pics celebrating the 5oth birthdays of my Encina High reunion group. We get together every chance we get, not just to plan our reunions.



















Interestingly enough, this layout was interrupted with a trip to the ER with Mom...she's fine, however the next day, I couldn't reach her. THAT was more scary than the original trip to ER...turns out, she took a friend to the ER...yeesh.