11-6-11

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11-5-11

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The Story of Me part 13

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People I Loved Who Loved Me Back

Patricia Phillips
(Grandma Pat)

Patricia Phillips, or Pat as everyone called her, had lived in her little house on Hurricane Way for longer than anyone could remember. It felt like she had always been part of the neighborhood and a member of the Our Lady Of Grace Church. Through the years, the neighborhood had changed from a quiet place where young couples bought their first homes to a forgotten part of Miami where people ended up when they couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.

Pat was friendly with everyone, but no one really knew her. She kept to herself and looked the other way when neighbors fought, as drug deals took place and while the police cars sat in the street with blue lights flashing. Pat was the first to show up with food after a neighbor suffered a sickness, experienced a death in the family or had a household member arrested for one reason or another.

Pat rarely talked about her life before moving to Miami and when she did the details were sparse. When Pat wanted to make a point she would start a sentence with, “I raised five children…” or “When I was married…” People listened to what Pat said and the advice she gave. Some listened to amuse the old lady, but most listened because she was usually correct in her assessment of a situation. Until the day Pat stepped up and took me into her home she had never over stepped or intruded into the private lives of her neighbors.

Because of the years I lived with Pat, I knew more about her life than anyone else in the neighborhood and I didn’t know much. I knew that the stories she told about having been married and having five children were lies. She had never married and there were no children. I knew that Pat had relocated to Miami from Atlanta in her early twenties. She had worked hard to lose the southern accent of her home state and as the neighborhood residents changed through the years it became easier for her to convince people that she had always lived in Florida. Years would pass before I would learn the reasons for her lies. Her devotion to me had been so unconditional that even learning the truth about her past could not sever the love or the bond I felt for her.

I grew up knowing that Pat wasn’t my real grandmother, but that didn’t change the fact that she loved me and I loved her. If she hadn’t been there to take me in all those years ago I would have ended up in the system much earlier than I did.

Pat had lots of rules in her house and said they were to keep me safe. Church on Sunday was mandatory unless you actually had a fever. Prayers had to be said before bedtime and blessings were said before meals. Lying was not allowed under any circumstances. Teeth were brushed after all meals and snacks. No Television before homework or after eight on weekdays. Toys were not to be left in the floor. Plates had to be cleared and placed in the sink. No one was allowed in the house if Grandma Pat wasn’t home. She had to know where I was going and who I would be with at all times. I followed all of the rules without question, except for once.

I know now that Grandma Pat’s rules were basic, but we lived in a neighborhood where rules weren’t followed often. Children stayed outside way after dark and often joined one local gang or another before leaving middle school. Homework was considered a joke. Most families consisted of a single parent, because the other had either run off or gotten arrested and was serving time. The only thing that stayed the same in our little corner of the world was Grandma Pat and her rules.

With everything I experienced and everything I lost, the day I lost Grandma Pat is still the worst day I ever had. The only day I was never able to forgive myself for.

Free Brag Book Page Exchange!

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Make sure you check out the fun things that are happening this weekend at Stuff to Scrap! I'm the most excited about the brag book page exchange!

The Scrappy Kat is giving away a beautiful kit called Christmas Traditions and everyone who makes a brag book page to share will be given all of the pages in return.

PLUS!!!!!! One lucky participant will win a $20 gift coupon to The Scrappy Kat's store!

You can read all the official rules in the forum at Stuff to Scrap! Make sure you check it out and join in on the fun!

New Goodies from Nibbles Skribbles!

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Nibbles Skribbles has been one busy girl lately! Remember those 2012 Calendar Grids I told you about? Well, now there are even more goodies to go with them! First up, there is a wonderful set of ready made quick calendars! You get 15 11x8.5 themed quick pages ~ perfect for the top portion of your calendar, a set of matching papers, month titles, calendar grid and a title page for your calendar. Check out the preview...

Thanks to this set, I'm actually going to get a 2012 calendar made before the year is half over! lol!

There's also a wonderful new kit called Heart Broken in the Nibbles Skribbles store. Even though the kit was designed with the not so happy times of our lives in mind, it is beautiful and versitle enough to scrap lots of things. The colors are amazing! Check out the preview...

I used the wordart I gave away earlier today on a layout...

Now, head over to the Nibbles Skribbles store and check out all of her awesome kits. You'll find that several of her goodies are on sale this weekend!

Another Celebrate Awareness QP Freebie

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I've got another QP freebie for you that I made using April the Scrapaholic's Celebrate Awareness kit. Don't forget to visit April's blog store to buy the kit. $1 from each sale gets donated to charity!

Click the preview below to go to 4shared for the download link.

November Build a Kit at Stuff to Scrap

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The November mini kits are in the Stuff to Scrap store and they look awesome! Several designers have made mini kits using the same color scheme and we get to pick and choose and buy the ones we like the best. YAY!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the minis made by Shel Belle Scraps and they are awesome! Shel has made a paper pack, cardstocks, elements and two different alphas. Her minis are called Baked With love.

Now, you guys know I don't bake, but I still love these minis! Just check out the previews...

Don't you just love them all?!?! The best part is that they are so versatile you can use them for baking layouts or other layouts. You know I opted for "other" layouts, right? lol! Check 'em out...

Visit Shel's blog for more layout inspiration and check out the Stuff to Scrap store to buy the awesome minis!