ScrapHappy

The winner and our last contest

The correct weight of my two bags was 72 pounds. This might not sound excessive, but please remember that I went down with one bag that weighed about 40 pounds. That means I came back with 30-some pounds of STUFF!

ACK!

So, our winner is...WENDY! Her guess of 78 lbs. was closest. Congratulations, Wendy! Send me your mailing address and I'll get some goodies out to you.

And speaking of goodies, I have one last question for your perusal and response...

Please match the following women with their 'special talent,' skill, or characteristic.

The first person with all the correct answers will win a copy of Visual Chronicles, an awesome book on creating an art journal!

PEOPLE:
A. Beth Proudfoot
B. Cathy Zielske
C. Angie Lucas
D. Kim Morgan

TALENT, SKILL, ATTRIBUTE:
A. Can do the splits -- both ways (to the right and left)
B. Was a competitive roller skater
C. Is learning to play the Irish tin whistle
D. Can fit her fist in her mouth

Okay, ladies... hit it!

Finally - Photos!

I have to make this quick because I have to go get my son from school -- welcome back to the real world! I've been slapped upside the head with Reality... diapers, carpool, laundry. Whew, CHA was like a trip to the spa compared to my normal life!

Okay, I know you've been dying for some photos, so here you go:

Stacy and me! We've talked on the phone and e-mailed a bunch of times, but never actually met. She is just... DELIGHTFUL! And she shops and Target and picks her nose like a real person. ;)

My darling Stephanie! She designs (and models -- heehe) for Me and My Big Ideas. I don't have time to create links right now, but if you go to my "posse" list, she is under "Homegrown." She is AMAZING. So talented. I want to be Stephanie when I grow up.

Stephanie's line at MAMBI. So fun and funky and cool!

La belissima Elisa from Scrapbour. All the way from Milano! I want to be Italian!

I don't have to tell you who this is.

...or this! But for those of you who have been in a closet for the last five years, the first is Elsie, and the second is my knitting buddy Donna Downey.

Contest updates: The winner of the restaurant contest is Christel, who guessed we ate at Marie Callender's....Woohoo, Christel! You will win a goody bag from CHA.

Next question... someone please tell me how much my combined checked luggage weighed on the way home... I'll take guesses to five PM Pacific time today! I'll give you a hint -- I checked two bags.

Keep guessing...

No one has gotten the restaurant correct yet. I'll give you a hint:

SHE's an American institution.

Guesses??

CHA HiJINX

I say "hiJINX" because I was jinxed.

First there was the whole tortilla chip thing.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am completely addicted to chips and salsa. I'm like an alcoholic. Once I start eating those chips, there aren't enough in the world to fill the hole. I have to avoid them unless I'm prepared to engage (or should I say, engorge). You know, wear elastic-waisted pants, bring a partner to heap me into a wheelbarrow and tote me home after I've eaten sixteen baskets of chips, etc.

So even though we passed two Mexican restaurants on our thrice-daily pilgrimages to Starbucks, I avoided them. I knew what would happen, so I wanted to put it off as long as I could. I figured I'd be "good," and then I would choose one day when I'd go have me some chips and salsa. That day was supposed to be last night.

First we went to Salsa Fresca (even writing the name right now makes my mouth water!). It was 8 PM on a Sunday night. They were closed. AHHH!

But that was okay, because Rancho Torito was right across the street. More of a sit-down kind of place, but no worries. I don't discriminate.

We drove over, parked in the garage, got seated, and I looked around, admiring the decor.

And noticed that there was not ONE BASKET OF CHIPS on ANY of the other tables.

PLEASE tell me how we managed to find the ONE Mexican restaurant in all of California that thinks it's chic and hip to be "authentic" and do away with the c'n's. I sat there, debating leaving, but decided it was God's will. No chips for me. No salty triangles of corny heaven, crispy and light on my tongue, serving as the perfect vehicle for a spicy, cool scoop of tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions... AHHHH!

So. What else?
-Maria lost her glasses and spent all day squinting like Mr. Magoo.
-I knocked over three easels and a big sign at the Simple Scrapbooks booth and brought a crowd of people running (it was just like that scene in PeeWee's Big Adventure when he knocks over the Harleys outside the biker bar and they fall one after another, to the end of the line. Except I did not get up on the bar and dance to "Tequila," thereby saving myself from discrace).
-I went to Starbucks tonight to finally send answers to all the email messages that have been piled up in my in-box, and it was CLOSED at 7:30... for maintenance! When is the last time you found a Starbucks that closed early??? Stick with me and you will see all sorts of things you've never seen before -- and may never want to be exposed to again.
-I met Lisa Bearnson, which would be an awesome thing, but I wore my cute clothes yesterday and today I am wearing my DomiKnitrix t-shirt and Crocs. (I can only handle one day of cuteness in a row before I have to go all Lindsay Lohan self-destructive and ruin my cred).
-I ran out of business cards (I made 50 really cute ones by hand out of paint chips I stole liberated from Ace Hardware. So everyone I met today got lame ones I got for free from VistaPrint.

I think that's it.

But I'm not complaining. Nope, not me. Never do. ;)

Oh, and the winner of the CHA Trivia Day #2 contest is.. Casie! Tim Holtz was indeed the first celeb we spotted, and Stacy J. was the first one we got photos with! Casie will get a goody bag of CHA treats. :)

Now, for the next contest... the Simple Scrapbooks team went for dinner tonight to celebrate our 5th anniversary. For the prize, please tell me what fine establishment we ate at... (And NO they did NOT have chips and salsa!).

CHA Hijinks, Post #2

Hello, friends and relations!

I have survived my first full day of CHA. And if you've ever been here before, you know that when I use the word "survive," I mean it in all seriousness (well, sort of).

Yesterday I alluded to the fact that I was feeling quite pre-wedding-ish. It turns out those feelings were prophetic, as CHA is like a wedding in more ways than one. Here's what I mean:

*They both bring out the best and the worst in people.
*They both involve getting together with a horde of people you don't know and pretending you all like each other.
*They both involve taking a ton of pictures and "smiling like you mean it," even when your feet hurt.
*They both involve significant investments in travel arrangements, shoes, and lingerie (just kiddin' about the last one, but I needed a third item on the list and couldn't think of one off the top of my head).
*They both involve Martha Stewart (she was the keynote speaker, but I skipped tonight's talk in favor of getting together with the Peas for ice cream and jib-jabbing).
*They both involve a lot of gifts, some of which will need to be returned (case in point, the "Baby Teeth" album that you will be hearing more about soon).

Okay, I'm sure there are many other ways that the two occasions are similar, but I have to end this now and get off the computer before I have to pay for another day of Internet access.

I don't have the ability to SEND e-mail, though I can recieve messages, so if you haven't heard from me, fear not! I'll get back to you ASAP.

Oh, and before I close.... Dear Maria and I are cruisin' in a PT Cruiser! You won, Beth! Tell her what she's won, Monty.... It's a goodie bag of items from the show! Photos soon.

Now, for the next quiz.... Tell me who the first "celebrity" we spotted is. Bonus: Who do you think was the first "celeb" we took a picture with??? Leave your guesses in the comments, and you're going to win something good.

CHA Hijinks Part I

Okay, it's been far too long since we've had any hijinks around here. So here we go.

Maria and I are here in beautiful (?) Anaheim, waiting for the big day tomorrow. Reminds me of the night before I got married -- sleeping in a hotel room with a girlfriend, trying to sleep, I should say! Too excited to do much of anything zzzzz-related.

It's been an exciting day already... The flight down was uneventful (thank goodness -- who wants an eventful flight???). But before we got on the plane, we did a quick scan of scrapbook stores in the greater Anaheim area, and we discovered that Scrapbook Oasis is within spittin' distance of the airport! So of course we ditched all ideas of heading to the hotel and headed straight to the "O" instead.

Here's where it gets funny (bet you were wondering!). After driving around a pitch-black industrial park for ten minutes, we come upon the correct building... and see "The Goddess Temple."

I kid you not:

There in the strip mall, alongside Joe's Industrial Elevators and PMC Business Wheels (okay, I made those up!), there was this little sign stuck in the lawn saying "The Goddess Temple." We looked at eachother and said, "Sure, this could be the place! Scrapbookers are goddesses, right??"

So we peeked in the window and saw.... a human skull, many velvety-type drapes, and some burning candles and maybe a newt's eye or two. Seriously. The place was WAY out of our comfort zone, and not a Basic Grey or a KI Memory in sight. We crept back to our car slowly so as not to upset the goddesses, and went on to the next building where there was... Scrapbook Oasis!

We parked, popped our heads in, breathed in the smell of cardstock, and sighed with relief. "Do you get a lot of customers who go to the Goddess Temple by mistake?" I asked.

The cute young lady employee looked at me like I was nuts. "Uh, no," she said, moving slightly away from me.

"Oh," I answered foolishly. "You know, there's a Goddess Temple right next door."

"Uh, sure," she said, moving the Heidi Swapp bling out of reach. I cowered off to a corner and began perusing American Crafts patterned paper.

For a second there, I was doubting my own senses... after all, this was an OASIS and all and I thought maybe I was seeing a MIRAGE or something. But no, the pictures show the truth, do they not???

We hung out for a bit, dropped $100 or so (TOTAL, not EACH!!!), and tried to crash the Jenni Bowlin class that was to take place that evening, but I think I'd freaked them out enough with all this talk of goddess temples that there was no way in God's name (or should I say, Goddess' name?) they were going to let us within ten feet of their star instructor. So we headed out before we were asked to leave (I think that when they saw me caressing the monster-sized Prima flowers, they got a little nervous).

Now, after a walk around the convention center, a short workout, and a dinner of Panda Express later, we are here.

More soon -- and a limited edition CHA-type prize to the first person to guess what model rental car we got!

CHA Prep

I woke up this morning and realized that I am leaving for CHA in four days. My goodness! I'd better get cracking on my to-do list. The ladies at 2Peas were kind enough to create a list for first-time CHA attendees in order to help us make sure our CHA experience is top-notch. I've taken a few clues from them and added my own items:

1. Look my best. Now that we're on the topic, I'd really like to lose about 15 pounds before CHA. Actually, I'll settle for 10. Maybe five? Hmmm... if I completely stop eating between now and Saturday, maybe I can lose an ounce or two.

2. Develop portfolio of all published pages, including give-away sheets to leave with manufacturers to showcase my work. Well, considering I haven't had THAT many pages published (certainly not enough to warrant a real PORTFOLIO, for gosh-sakes) maybe they'd settle for me flashing a couple of issues of Simple under their noses and we'll call it good? And another thing... I'm all for blatant truth and all that, but do you think I need to mention that four of the magazines I've written for have gone belly-up within a year or two of my writing for them? I think I can keep that little secret to myself, don't you?

3. Make list of "dream" DT jobs so I can scope out the booth and new product. Uh, who are we kidding here? Like I can prioritize. Like I'd turn anyone (even the aforementioned Famous Scrapbook Designer) down. If someone wanted to give me free product, geez, like I'm going to say no???

4. Buy comfortable shoes. Now THAT I can do. But somehow I don't think I can justify my new pair of Manolos (YES! I GOT SOME!!! I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT!) as a business expense. Come to think of it, they're not exactly comfortable, either. Can anyone say Crocs?

5. Bring lots of water. Uhh... now, why on earth would I want to spend ANY precious CHA time AT ALL standing on line in the ladies' room??? Forget the liquids. A couple of days of dehydration will not hurt me (and may actually assist with goal #1).

Okay, I have to go now. I need to find someone to publish a few of my LOs between now and Saturday.

See you at CHA!

Broken Heart

Dear Famous Scrapbook Designer:

You told me you’d changed.

I trusted you.

You broke my heart again.

After last time, I said, “Never again.” I put away your cute packaging. I pushed your layout ideas to the back of my desk. I took your blog off my Bloglines list.

I was done. Finished. My heart was hardened against you. I didn’t even blink when you sent me e-mails about your new flash and bling. I paged past your cute ads in the scrapbook magazines. I began to heal, to fill the spot you once occupied with other products that granted, weren’t as cute as you, but were much more dependable.

Then you e-mailed me. You told me this time it would be different. You promised you’d stick when you said you’d stick, and rub-on when you said you’d rub on.

I believed your hollow promises.

At first, things were good. I tried you out on little projects – a rhinestone here, a chipboard letter there. All was good. You stuck by me like you promised you would.

Then…

Then it all fell apart – literally. I was working on a big one – the first day of school layout for my first-grader. It was almost done – but it needed a little “something.” I found your rub-on sheet in my file. I leafed by it once or twice, thinking, We’re just not ready for that big a commitment.

But I kept coming back to you. I thought about how adorable the design would be – perfect for the spot I had. So I took a deep breath and took the plunge.

At first it looked okay. You started to move, and I exhaled, thinking that all was okay. But then I knew it had been a mistake to trust you again. You gave up. You just sat there, staring at me, refusing to budge no matter how hard I rubbed, pleaded, begged, and prayed. No go.

That’s it. We’re finished.

Don’t write. Don’t call. Don’t lure me to your CHA booth with cute packaging and fun colors. I don’t want to hear your empty promises. I’m done opting for flash over substance.

My codependent days are over. I’m going to get healthy now. So stay away. I don’t think my heart can take another disappointment like this one. It would have been bad enough if you’d just said “No.” But to go halfway and then change your mind… now I’m left with a shabby chic layout where none was intended. The marks on my heart (and my picture) will never go away.

BIG News

I've gotten the official okay to spill the beans...

Please join me as I teach my first-ever Big Picture Scrapbooking class later this month...

NO EXCUSES JOURNALING!

I am way beyond excited to be teaching this class, a collaboration between Simple Scrapbooks and BPS. I am still in awe (if you see me, go 'head and pinch my bootie to see if I'm dreaming or not...).

More details will be available from the BPS site later this month.

If You Had a Day With Donna...

...What would YOU do??

I'd knit, of course!

I was privileged to take an awesome day's worth of classes with Ms. Donna D., and I had read on her blog that she is now converted to the status of fiber addict. So I brought her a little somethin' at class. I think she liked it... what do you think?? This was the first knitting pattern I designed entirely on my own. I call it the Loopy Scarf.

Anywho, she is just as funny and amazing (actually more so!) than she appears on her blog. It was such a great time. Can't wait to see her at CHA in a few weeks!

At lunchtime we took a trip to a tiny little yarn shop across the street (Okay, say what you want about the city (town? pasture?) of Tracy, anyplace that has a 20,000-square-foot scrapbook store ACROSS THE BLINKING STREET from a yarn shop is doing something right, IMHO). I think the proprietess was freaked out by all these Croc-wearing women who descended on her out of the blue. At least we bought stuff -- I told Donna that bigger is definitely better when it comes to needles for scarves, so she picked up a pair of Size 17s. You go, girl!

Other highlights from the day:
-Hearing the Fiskars drill jokes, firsthand (no pun intended)
-Meeting a bunch of cool ladies who, like me, are willing to drive 100 miles to take a scrapbooking class
-Having Donna not just admire but CARESS the socks I am making for Dawn

If you get a chance to take a class from Donna, DO IT.

And speaking of classes... read on below!

And I will also have another class-related announcement soon... hint hint hint....