Ranting Over Others' Reactions to a Tragedy

This article came up through my news feed on Facebook this afternoon. I am appalled at some of the comments: 
One says that there is plenty of research that the majority of peanut allergies are psychological (!!)
Another suggested that instead of banning the foods, allergic people should just avoid places containing the allergen. Umm, school?!?
Yet another who says it is not his problem, and he is tired of having to change his life because of someone else's problem. 

When Princess A was three she ate a cashew. As soon as she swallowed it she started screaming that her tongue hurt, that her throat hurt, that her chest hurt, that her belly hurt, then she started vomiting. Fortunately she missed the Christmas turkey that was just about to be served.
Two months later (Valentine's Day, to be exact), she took a bite of a peanut butter cup handed out at her (supposedly peanut-free) daycare. Again, she immediately started screaming. I had her spit it out, rinsed her mouth out, gave her Benadryl and all was well. Thankfully.
Less than a year after this, we went out to dinner. We told the hostess of her allergy before we even agreed to eat there. Told the server as we were handed our menus, and reiterated the information when we ordered. We were assured everything was safe. Turns out it wasn't, there was a walnut in the oatmeal cookie. Again, screaming in pain, and I could see her lips swell. Her words were slurred as her tongue swelled as well. Benadryl was given, an epi-pen was administered and paramedics were called.
Each of these events occurred before she was 4-1/2 years old, the final two at places that had assured us they were nut free. 
If she so much as taps a peanut/treenut, she will get a rash. I have also known her to cough/wheeze if she gets too close to peanut butter. 
These reactions are neither imagined nor psychosomatic. Do you really believe a three-year-old is that cunning? How could the four-year-old have known there was a walnut in the cookie when the shop who baked them didn't? 

I know another little girl who, at age 2, was served a peanut butter sandwich. And by 'served' I mean it was placed on the table in front of her. The reaction was instantaneous. She did not touch it, she did not bite it, but her face and lips blew up. 

Did you know that reactions can vary? That if you have a mild allergic reaction one time, does not mean you are mildly allergic, it just means you were lucky. Next time can be a whole different story. Allergies also can develop over time. I met a woman just a couple of weeks ago (Princess A and I took her Zentangle class) who said she had a horrible reaction in a Thai restaurant when she has never had one before. The culprit was peanuts.

I find the reaction of 'I should not have to change, it is your problem' absolutely horrifying. We are not talking about someone who does not like mushrooms and insists that no one else eat them either. Nor someone who chooses to eat vegan and expects all to accommodate. This is a matter of Life and Death.
I think all schools, daycare centers, kid gyms, etc. should ban peanuts and treenuts. I do not believe this will lead to the restriction of every food under the sun that has ever caused someone trouble. In fact, the only other allergy I have heard of that can have such a devastating effect just from being inhaled is latex. And I know of a school that did not hesitate to ban latex from the ENTIRE school for that ONE KID.
Most children of elementary school age and younger are not savvy enough to advocate for themselves, nor are the youngest ones able to read a label. Kids also have a tendency to spill things, leave messes and not wash hands, then touch everything. That peanut butter on his desk, or on his hand can spread throughout the entire room. Your kid will survive if he does not eat a peanut butter sandwich. My kid could die if he does. Is your child's immediate gratification more important than my daughters life??

Plus, sometimes it is your problem. Some years ago, Princess A and I flew to FL, to see my sister. I bought tickets with an airline whose policy was that while they were unable to forbid peanuts altogether, they would prepare a peanut free area, six rows in front, behind and across the aisle of an allergic person. The flight attendants made an announcement that "due to an allergy, rows blank through blank would not be served any peanuts and any that they had purchased needed to stay in their bags, or we would have to land in North Carolina and nobody wants that".

But of course we all know that person who insists her kid is allergic to milk, then proceeds to serve him yogurt as part of lunch and ice cream for dessert. Or that other one who says she is allergic to dairy and, when accidentally served cheese topping, just scrapes it off and eats it anyway. Or the one whose kid is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts, and treenuts, but the child does not bring her own snack to the amusement park and the epipen is purposely left (by the parents) in the car. Or yet another one who says he is so deathly allergic to fish that he expects everyone in his apartment complex(!) to no longer prepare fish in their own homes(!), yet does not even own an epipen. (Trust me, he was not allergic)
Please, please, please, do not say there is an allergy if it is only a dislike or disdain or totally grossed-outedness. Just say you find it repellant. Otherwise, you seriously undermine the safety of those with true allergies. I am certain the reason that so many believe that all of this allergy talk is just "hype" or made up is because of stories like those above. Allergies are very real and very dangerous. Those of us whose lives are ruled by them (you have to eat in order to survive) need to be believed and need to be respected.

Finally, never, ever serve an allergen to a guest with an allergy. Ask before preparing food if there are any allergies in the party. Be cognizant of the ingredients you use and warn people of what is not safe. Better yet, don't cook with those troublesome items at all. I am always willing to answer questions as to what exactly Princess A can and cannot eat, and how to prepare something to be absolutely sure it is safe. I also do not mind providing for her (I have baked her personal cupcakes for many a birthday party), but do appreciate if the majority of your menu is safe for her to eat. I know I am obnoxiously judgmental over how people prepare food for my daughter. It is not personal, I am just trying to keep her safe. She wants to be able to participate in the festivities as fully as the other kids do, after all. A trip to the ER is not fun for anyone.

Mini Melinas Twisted Tuesday

The owner of the Twisted Tuesdays Challenge blog (#2TC57)has a little girl who just had a birthday (happened after the challenge posted, but before I posted here). I do not know her name, however, so I will call her Mini Melina. In honor of her birthday, the challenge is to use the color pink (a favorite of Minis); The twist is to show something that is outdoors (Mini loves to play outside).

When I was at the Rubber Stamp Expo this past June, I did a Make -n- Take which involved sponging and spritzing. I really loved the effect, and when SCS published that same technique recently in their weekly tutorial, I wanted to try it again. 

The shades of pink (trust me, there are three) evolve from lightest on the right to darkest on the left. Most of the gallery photos, and even the Make -n- Take that I did, feature silhouettes, but I thought Mini was a bit young for that yet. Many stamps were considered and dismissed, but as soon as I saw this one, I knew it was right.

Happy Birthday Mini!

When I asked Princess A if the first thing that came to mind when she thought of the great outdoors was a unicorn, she hesitated, and in that moment, Main Squeeze pointed out, "well, I have never seen one inside"
















Card Details:

Image: Unknown

Sentiment: N/A

Cardstock: GP, SU

Ink: SU, Memento
Coloring: N/A

Tools: Sponges, Spray bottle

Embellies: Gelly Roll Stardust glitter pen, unknown rhinestones

Quartet Coaching Part II - The Coach

A mentioned in a previous post, my quartet was privileged to be coached by one of the best known names in Sweet Adelines, Kim Vaughn! She was informative; She was funny; She was helpful; She was interesting; She was fabulous!

I wanted to make her a thank you card. Took me nearly a week to come up with anything more than the image I wanted to use. Sketch Saturday (#271) helped in this regard. 

Internet has been off and on for a couple weeks, so here I am at the last minute finishing this post. Sadly, I missed the deadline for The Pink Elephant (#211), using texture. I think, perhaps, I need a new router. Darn thing keeps forgetting how to communicate with the modem. I am getting very tired of fixing it every day, some days more than once.

Anywho, back to my card. I stamped the background first with "Weathered" from SU. Next, I stamped the cover-a-card music notes. I crumpled it and crushed it, unfolded it, then crumpled and crushed it again. I used my distressing tool on the edges (all the while wishing I had done this step before the crumpling, etc) then inked the edges and the ridges. My goal was a look of old parchment. I think it came out pretty well. 

Card Details:

Image: Copper Leaf Creations, Cover-a-Card, SU

Sentiment: Computer generated

Cardstock: SU

Ink: SU, Memento
Coloring: Copics, Prismacolor markers

Tools: Nestabilities, Tim Holtz Distressing Tool

Embellies: unknown sequins, unknown rhinestone, Stickles

And here we are with Kim

Quartet Coaching Part I - The Outfit

This past Saturday, my quartet had the honor of coaching with Kim Vaughn (formerly Hulbert), Sweet Adelines International Faculty, International quartet champion (several times over), International Chorus Champion director and all around amazing singer and teacher. Though shaky in the week leading up to it, I had a blast on stage. Oh right, did I mention our coaching took place in front of many of the regions quartets?

During our weekly rehearsal we discussed what to wear. Our chorus director (who happened to be there) said she was going shopping that afternoon and would keep her eye out for some tops. The following night at chorus rehearsal, she had a bag full! (Not to mention a perfect pair of earrings) We chose two sets (everything must be bought times four, remember) and sent one back. We wore the more casual (and slightly cooler; it is summer, all) top for our big day.

The lead and tenor went shopping later in the week and found necklaces, bracelets and bangles to match




Kim complimented us on our appearance and talked to the other attendees about how your impression on stage sets the judges to expect good (or not so good) things from you. 

On Sunday while blurfing (I have been trying to do a better job with keeping up with everyone's blogs), I came upon The Deconstructed Sketch (#112). Immediately my "All Dressed Up" dies came to mind, and a card was born. This one will go to Marion (SONE director), our personal shopper.

Card Details:

Image: N/A

Sentiment: SU

Cardstock: GP, SU

Ink: SU
Coloring: N/A

Tools: SU Framelits die

Embellies: SU button, SU Bakers twine, SU Dimensionals

Happy (Humorous) Birthday, Barb!

I think of myself as a rather entertaining person; I can usually get a good guffaw out of ya at least once in a conversation. But I will admit, coming up with an idea for a humorous birthday card stumped me. Over the course of a few days, whenever it would cross my mind, I put in varying search terms in Google Images to find something funny that I could replicate. Nothing too difficult, as I was going to need to make multiples. 

Finally, FINALLY, I hit pay dirt. A sentiment made one of my stamps jump to the forefront of my mind. It would be complicated, as it would involve much detailed cutting and numerous maskings, but I have plenty of time (cards are not due until October, after all); I decided to go for it. 

This time around, The Deconstructed Sketch (#111) provided inspiration for the layout. 

About five minutes in, it became very clear, that the idea was beyond my abilities to produce once, never mind eight times. A quick search through my birthday drawer and I found another image that would work just fine; and a card was born.

I alternated between punches for the border. At first I had the candles dripping red wax (different punch than shown here), but Princess A stated that it looked more like blood, which had also crossed my mind. Not exactly festive.

I punched icicles, turned them upside down and put them along the top, and she agreed it could pass for flame. All those candles would produce a mighty blaze. 





With the way Barb and Jeanette are always ragging each other, I think this card's message is perfect. 








Card Details:

Image: Hero Arts

Sentiment: American Art Stamps, computer generated

Cardstock: GP, SU

Ink: Memento
Coloring: Copic Markers

Tools: Martha Stewart punch, SU punch, Nestabilities, Embossing folder

Embellies: Unknown brad

Aprils 15th Anniversary

The hostess for July/August in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards is April. She has requested, in honor of her 15th... 

Anniversary cards. 

UGH, April, not my forte. An anniversary is not something I have ever celebrated, and is not really on my radar of occasions for which to make cards. But, I searched and searched and searched and searched and searched (you get the picture) and finally came up with an idea. Fortunately, Tuesday Morning Sketches (#208) had a sketch that fit my image and sentiment perfectly.

 

















Happy Anniversary, April and Michael!!!




Card Details:

Image: Elzybells

Sentiment: Elzybells

Cardstock: GP, SU

Ink: Memento
Coloring: Copic Markers

Tools: Martha Stewart punch, Nestabilities

Embellies: Stickles, generic dimensionals

What Happened to Flopsey?

Some weeks ago, LJ opened a swap for a stamp company I do not own and have no desire to acquire. I checked out Linda's stash, but nothing jumped out at me. She and I discussed it and decided to request LJ host a My Favorite Things swap so I could join it. (Sure, I could have hosted it myself, but I really wanted to join an LJ swap.)

Here we are more than 30 days later, and I have just finished my cards. But, since they are not due for 20 more days, I am actually ON TIME!!!

Back to MFT... What happened to Flopsey?? I went on the site to see if there were any new Flopseys I needed for this swap and there was not a single one! I read a little further only to find out Flopsey was discontinued?! WHAT?!? How could they do that to this bunny that reminds me so very much of Princess A's own special Mel??

[This was Mel on Princess A's first First Day of Fifth Grade (I say first First because she had a second First Day when we moved). He is sitting on the front steps waiting for her to come home from school so he can present her with the gift we made for her while she was away.]






I cannot believe that my six sets of Flopsey are all I am ever going to have of him. I guess Mel will have to live vicariously through the critters of some of my other stamp sets instead...

I found the sketch for this card on Sketch Saturday (#266) after reading Kelly's post about it. I had never heard of this blog before, but it is now bookmarked and I hope to continue to find inspiration there.

  


















Card Details:

Image: MFT, Artful Inkables, Cover-a-Card

Sentiment: N/A

Cardstock: GP, SU

Ink: Memento, SU

Tools: Embossing Folder, Nestabilities, IO Mega Mount, SU punch

Coloring: Copic markers, Prismacolor markers

Embellies: Unknown dimensionals