Current mood: Bah-Humbug!

I feel like I should offer some type of explanation for my mood lately. And, to put the concerns that some of you have, to rest. (You are so sweet!)

My husband and I both lost our fathers within 2 weeks of each other at Christmas time 3 years ago. Both had major strokes, both affected their right sides and their speech. My father, fortunately, was able to come home and, since I was a nurse, we were able to care for him at home until he passed away. The day before my Dad's funeral, we received a phone call that my father-in-law had a stroke and was in critical condition. It was like watching a rerun of a terrible movie without an intermission! Having cared for my father around the clock for almost 2 months, my DH and my kids were exhausted. And, for myself, being "the nurse", I really didn't have time to come to terms with "my patient" being my Dad. Then, we were thrown into losing my father-in-law. Needless to say, Christmas is a very hard time for us. I am not really sure that any of us has really grieved to the point of reconciling ourselves to our loss. This year some other things have been going on in our families that have really upset us and it seems like this week, it has hit us all like a ton of bricks.

You know how you can be upset about something but not really able to put your finger on just what it is, and, then, all of a sudden something so minor and so seemingly insignificant just pushes you over the edge? Well, the day my new refrig was to be delivered, this idiot delivery guy came, walked in my house, declared that it wouldn't fit through the door and just walked out! After 1 1/2 hours on the phone with Sears talking to equally idiotic people, I finally just cancelled the order. The next day, I got a call from Sears delivery asking when I wanted the frig delivered, and an apology that the unit had been damaged the previous day. So, apparently that is what the idiot delivery guy had told them as his excuse for not delivering it! We could not get in touch with the salesman since he was off for a few days and when we finally did yesterday, he hit the roof! He got the manager involved and between the both of them assured us that they would get it delivered so we started to go through purchasing the refrig again. When it came time to get the check approval, the company they use to approve checks said they couldn't approve it since we had written a check for that same amount just a week before and, to insure against fraud, it was their policy to reject it! Both the salesman and the manager were doing all that they could do, telling them the whole story, how Sears was issuing a refund to us, they had verified that there was enough money in the account but they wouldn't budge!

Anyway...no frig, the manager and salesman are furious, embarrassed and very apologetic and encouraged us to buy the frig from someplace else "that employs intelligent people". But, it all just pushed me over the edge! I just fell apart and my poor DH is trying to make things better and is getting furious about everything...it was not pretty!

So, I had decided the Hell with everybody and everything! Usually, when I am in a bad mood, PSP calms me down but I just sat at the computer and hated everything about it! I looked at how many people had downloaded some of the files and how few had left comments and thought, why am I doing this? It is the same people leaving comments all the time. I do appreciate your comments, some of you have become "cyber friends" and I love you to bits. But, what about the other 200-300 or so people that just grab and go? I understand not leaving a comment each and every time, and sometimes even forgetting but, geez! So, being already p-ssed off, feeling totally unappreciated by some family members, I decided to ditch it all. I would finish giving out the pages of the album I had finished and then call it quits.

DH and I now realize why we are feeling the way we are and I have re-thought my decision and although I will probably take somewhat of a break until after the holidays, I love designing and, for my loyal buds, I will probably still be here. I realize that what I have said has probably angered some people but I feel that just grabbing and never leaving a comment is rude. And, it is not just on my blog, it is on everyone's. A lot of time and effort is put into designing scraps and for those of us that give them away and are not selling on scrap sites , comments are the only "payment" we get. A thank-you, a comment of what you liked, a request for something you might like...it goes a long way in keeping freebies coming. I have talked to other bloggers that have either stopped or cut down on the amount of freebies they offer because of feeling like they were being taken advantage of, that the freebies were expected. I am still going to be thinking about all of this and maybe there is some way to keep giving out freebies to you without feeling like this. Please, leave comments for the designers. If you think enough of their designs to download them, you should think enough of them to leave a comment. It is just the considerate thing to do. IMHO, lack of consideration and lack of appreciation is epidemic in the world today. It is such a small thing to do, to say thank-you and to show appreciation to someone and, yet, for such a small act, it has a profound effect.

I hope that explains my lack of communication. I am going to spend more time with my family and trying to bring some joy into our Christmas Holiday. I hope you all understand.

Stepping off my soapbox now. I do have another page for you and still have others in the works. Today's download includes an extra-extra of things that you might need but didn't really fit on any page!

And, to those of you that always leave a comment, big hugs! Re-reading your comments is what prompted me to keep going!

Sorry! This Download has been removed