Project 12 and HUGE NEWS!!!

This layout took me entirely too long to do (like two weeks!), but I'm kind of in love with the result! I used the February Page Maps sketch for Project 12, but I swapped the journaling block for the heart-shaped journaling page and red stitching. That idea was way out there for me, and I almost didn't do it, but now I'm glad I did because I think it looks so cool! The little scene with the houses and trees and such was all stamped and paper pieced together, took ages, but the idea was inspired by Nolan going door to door collecting pledges for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, so I really wanted to create a neighborhood here. I painted the edges of all the photos because they were kind of dark, which is something I haven't done in a loooooong time. The journaling has some stamping in there to make things more interesting. The only thing I don't like about this page is that I didn't have enough room to write everything I wanted to include, but I'll just blog it instead.

So if you're here for the layout only, you can tune out for this portion because it will be on a more personal level. Remember a couple of posts ago I said Thursday was such a bad day and I couldn't talk about it? Well, on Thursday, February 24, I got a message at work from my husband to call home ASAP. Very weird, I thought maybe he went home with the flu. Turns out he was "Terminated Without Cause" from his job. WHAT?!?! I went home right away, and we were both in emotional turmoil. How could they do this to us? We kept going over and over it, and we still don't know their reasoning. We probably never will. I wanted to write about it here, just to unburden, but Jason didn't want me to at that point. The whole stigma of being fired was really hard on him. The last 3 weeks have been a complete rollercoaster, with Jason applying for jobs, traveling to an interview, talking about lawyers, money, etc. A couple of days ago, I mentioned how I'd been thinking about getting my teaching degree, and Jason said, "That's a great idea, let's sell everything, move to Prince George, I'll get a J.O.B. and you can go to school and in 2 years you can have a real career." So we both scrambled around to get 3 people to fill out the reference forms (very hard for me, I hate asking anyone for anything), ordered my ancient transcripts, and filled out the application forms so I could make the March 15th deadline. I know, talk about pressure! Then yesterday, Jason gets a call offering him the job in 100 Mile House that he interviewed for last week. So we've decided he should take this job, I'll put my educational dreams on hold for now, and we'll make a fresh start in a new town. We'll be a 45 minute drive from all 4 grandparents, so hopefully things will be great once we get settled. I'm just kinda freaking out here, though... Tons to do! Pack the house, put it on the market, quit my job, etc. I'll probably be up here with the kids for a bit by myself while Jason starts the new job, so that's gonna be tough, too. Wish me luck, and I just want everyone to know that I really appreciate all your support and kindness. I feel like I've made some real friends out there in blogland, and I love you all! MWAH!!!

Supplies (all CTMH): Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock, Grace Level 2 paper pack, Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Cocoa, Olive, Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand and Cranberry, Neighborhood and Classmate Alphabet My Acrylix stamp sets, Natural Hemp

Other: Creative Memories heart punch and pen, Prima journaling card, unknown ribbon, staples and machine stitching