and eric picked up his new 'fan' today... 36 olympic tickets..
we are so excited..
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newsy stuff...
I am happy to report that I woke up this morning feeling rested. That is after like 4 nights going to bed at the same time as the babies and getting an average of 11 hours of sleep each night. Recovery, this time, was brutal! i am happy to be feeling back to normal! (as normal as I get). Now, despite the fact that I woke up feeling rested, I think that it was an anxiety attack that actually woke me up!
Creative Escape Begins in 36 days 14 hours
I woke up thinking about all the things that were on MY list of to-do’s, that I am behind on. CE is just sneaking right up! The kitting process is well underway! Wow.. they are some amazing, fabulous kits!! Now… if you are coming to Creative Escape… PLEASE PLEASE make sure that you are checking the CE website, and blog every day… there is new information posted every day.. sneak peeks, photo requirements, supply lists. There is a ton of info on there that you need to know! If you don’t know your login, you can email the support address and they will get you the info that you need to get in there. You need to be sure that you have your hotel reservations lined up as well. all that info is on the site. It’s such a beautiful venue.. I am really looking forward to it. I hope that I get a little chance to enjoy it… I am planning on sleeping in on Sunday morning!
Also.. the cute t-shirt is posted, so you can get a pre-order going for that. so cute.
I wanted to also make sure that those of you coming to visit me here in Beijing know about the Yahoo group: beijingwithhs2008. Also, you could contact me by email and I can get you linked up with the moderator. Jim West and I were on last night answering all kinds of questions and it just made me more excited…you are in for such a treat. Please make sure that ScrapMap has your most current, up to date addresses (like physical address), as I will be sending out your trip kit! We’ll be working on 3 classes/projects while you are here…and you will have a little prep to get out of the way. as well as a few swaps and other fun preparations that you won't want to miss out on!!
And just one more bit of IMPORTANT info… Registration for Create ’08 is just a few short hours away! Be sure to check the Create ’08 blog for registration instructions and other important informations!
Whew… that was a lot of business-y stuff.. please forgive!
friday...
You may be wondering what kinds of things that ranked high enough to earn space in my 2 bags that I brought back with me!
1. sugar free mints. I love mints, and you just can’t get these good sugar free ones!
2. Sippy cups…this was a biggie. I found ones that had Elmo, they were a huge hit!
3. DS games… and I got Cory a DS. They are into Pokemon and Guitar Hero, but I also picked up an educational game, and they are having fun with it as well.
4. cliff bars and protein drink mix. That stuff is HEAVY.
5. pj’s for the babies. They are so cute, and they grow so fast! I got Capri cute princess nightgown, and also got her some princess shoes. They are a definite ‘outfit’ as far as she is concerned.
6. wallpaper. I got some of that cool ‘paintable’ wallpaper. I will show it when we use it. it’s just white for now.
7. books; little ones for the babies, and chapter books for Quincy. Colton and Cory are all set with Harry Potter.
8. exercise socks that wick
9. shirts E found on ‘steep and cheap’
10. fake nails for quincy
that was the bulk of the ‘necessities’… the rest was me cramming in as much scrapbook stuff as I could. I got as much paper as I could… Tim ideaology stuff, new sticky canvas paper by Claudine Helmuth, by Ranger…and she introduced some beautiful colors of paint, and gel medium. Did you hear that there are new ‘distress stickles’? I scored some of the ‘worn lipstick’. It’s really shiny. this 'archival ink' works great with my stamps...and i stopped by the Fiskars booth, and they have a bunch of really impressive new products coming out. a NEW trimmer, that I was in love with, and 2 new stamping tools...but this is something that isn't new, just new to me! it's their free-style cutter "ultra shape xpress". you can use it w/ a template, or just freehand.. it's awesome. i don't do a ton of exacto-type cutting, but this will make that kind of thing a breeze. i was loving it! Fiskars even released a trimmer that you can put your iPod on and it has speakers on it and stuff... i had to laugh, but so cooL!
It’s all a huge mess, I am trying to get up the energy to put everything away, unpack and get settled back in. I am so happy that it’s the weekend so I can recover! while the sleeping thing is out of whack... the digestion schedule is always totally thrown off! hungry at weird times! ... good to be home.
delays.
The thing that I hate more than being tired is wasting time, and missing opportunities WHILE I waste time!! I am totally irritated at the moment as I am sitting on the hard, dirty floor of the Chicago airport next to the one and only plug that I could find in this whole concourse…I have been here since 7am, back when I had a 9am flight… which then became a 12:27 and has just now bumped up to a 3:50pm. And truth be told, this is a good opportunity to catch up on emails, review show and meeting notes, as well as work on brainstorming for all the new stuff that has been served up onto my plate. But still… that ever present ‘if I only knew’… I would be in the city SHOPPING on the magnificent mile… for sure buying carmel corn and making my way to Paper Source. And certainly, just to make myself feel better about the delay, buy a new shirt or shoes or something!! (smile). It’s a beautiful day here in Chicago. I am pacifying myself by downloading new music for the flight, and reading blogs. (neither of which is very productive). 
I miss my family. I have been informed that Capri can now climb out of her crib by herself, which is a record early age in our household. (congrats on your new crib, Connor!). I was also informed that dad makes better stroganoff than me! (congrats on your new job, Eric!) I am ready to go home. I think that no matter where you go, and no matter where you live, it’s always good to go home. But for the next couple of hours, I think I am going to go and find some chips and salsa.
Janet is doing a few little giveaways on her blog- she pilfered some of the new release from the booth. She is nice… I am not giving any of mine away! (smile)
flippin out
ok, well, lets see if this works!!
i have uploaded a video to YOU TUBE...
i got this cutie 'flip camera'... everyone has been telling me that i need one, and i finally gave into peer pressure and now i am wishing i took way more videos!! yesterday i took about 3 hours and buzzed the show the best i could. i stopped by to some of my favorites, to see if i could sweet talk some samples of newness to lug back with me to beijing! i have quite a heavy bag or bags i should say. (not to mention the cute plastic plates that i found at target, or the front facing carseat that i still need to purchase for Connor!).
now... this video was filmed literally the last 15 minutes of the show- i look so TIRED. i hate it when people tell me i look tired--i hate being tired! and the show is usually totally exhausting when you are on your own time zone... let alone jet lagged. wow, that was intense. but, this will make you feel like you came by the booth! (i think)
important NOTE to SELF... record any video at the BEGINNING of the show... because at the end of the show you are practically dead!!
and actually, this photo was taken directly after the video was shot.
Day 2, check!
I took a few more photos today, but not many. I get so distracted! I didn’t take a photo of the make and take… but I found a photo that I took at home before I came! That is better than nothing. And this is a cute photo of Kara Wylie… she is so awesome! She has been helping to work the booth for a lot of years now, and despite the fact that she has to take a break from her day job(selling fiji water) she loves to come and work the booth. She is always totally happy and positive! she was popping the pieces that we needed for the make n take out. these are elements from the ‘dream dining room clear extras’… comes in a 12x12 sheet. We took 4 of them an used jump rings and crystals to hook it all together. I love dangly stuff.
. I thought I would share some photos of a few of my favorite people! Tim… who I have the pleasure of sharing a booth with. Stacy and Paula from BPS…they are great. I love them! And Sarah, of Scenic Route was situated right by our booth, and I think she is awesome! Today was Doug Jones’ birthday (Mr. Bazzill)…happy birthday to yoU! our booth was just right next door to Bazzill, so it was fun to laugh and joke with those folks all the day long! Tomorrow I am hoping for a chance to do a little wanderings… I have heard of a few cool things I want to check out! maybe I will be able to share! I did get that ‘flip’ camera.. so we’ll see how it works tomorrow. Good night!
CHA fun
We figured out that we have known each other for 21 years. We met as sophomores at Brighton high school, and became fast friends… she lives near here… in Indianapolis, and came to hang out and help! She is seriously a rock star, because our make and take was a monster… and has 8 (count them, 8) jump rings, and 4 chandelier crystals and takes a bit longer than a minute to complete! She was delightful the whole day! but maybe only because she knew she was only here for the first day! we have been having so much fun, laughing and reminiscing! I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo of the make-n-take.. it’s so cute! I love it…. I did snap a couple shots of the collections collaged w/ that cool Ikea frame. It at least gives you a vibe until I can be responsible and take better photos. 
packing....
ok.. .i have procrastinated long enough. i have to get serious about packing! but my huge box of new stuff just showed up... and i have all these ideas, and just NO TIME. i have been contemplating packing stuff to scrapbook on the plane! smile.. i did this layout of capri with her new found purse...the 'it's all about you' is from a new set called 'clear pages'. it is 6 5x7 pages for my mirror album (or anything really). there are 2 sets, and will be really fun for using in so many ways...this was a really quick layout, with just a couple stamps and few embellishments. i haven't pulled my ribbon out in awhile. i think i will always love ledger paper... this is MM's. and i have also used a bit of Prima paper... that i totally love... and that great dot from Scenic Route. a couple of nights ago, and have been creating a couple of banners for the show. the Winterfresh line is just that... think peppermint and wintergreen!
street smarts.
As my boys have gotten older, I have found it a little more challenging to come up with stuff that ‘fits’ the photos I take of them. photos that are usually featuring them on something with wheels, or doing some kind of strenuous, dangerous or wild and crazy activity! Clearly, pink is not an option. I have played the ‘pink’ card a time or two… but I really felt like I needed to come up with something that really worked to capture their vibe. I guess you could say that they are the inspiration for my new ‘street smarts’ collection… the collection includes 6 papers, (doublesided) as well as clear and glossy extras that coordinate, those glossy cobalt blue letters, and some grey houndstooth foam letters. Oh, and a sheet of really rad stickers. I would show you a photo of the whole set, but I have used up every bit of what I had sent over. (not very much)! and I have a box enroute, that I have been waiting for, but because of the Olympics and all the seriously amped up security measures going on, who knows when I will see it. (can you sense the irritation in my voice). So here are just a couple samples to give you an idea of how it looks. I will suffice it to say that it’s SO perfect for my boys, and I have been LOVING playing with it. when I was designing it, I was asking them what the ‘cool’ words were to say… and they told me that ‘radical’ was a cool word. Ha ha… they tend to say it with a certain level of sarcasm attached. I am in LOVE with that blue pop from those chipboard alphabets… I have some hot pink ones and black that are shiny and do that same ‘pop’. (they remind me of the purses I posted not too long ago!) 
These sayings here on the side are the stickers all layered, and cut up just a bit. the background is a really funky plaid, and the frame is from another paper in the set.
the next one.. ('shanghi') is my favorite paper of the set... it's called 'toxic waste' and i just love the grey and that cool green stripe! i do dig it. and then that big 'sweet' is a clear extra piece . dang.. i love the blue. 
the 'skateboard' layout is also from that skate park in shanghi. just a quick and simple layout.. but a fUn one.. i like the contrast in color, shape and size of the letters. i like them layered. again.. dang that cool blue!
this might make you chuckle a little. it's an ad we just did for this collection.. it might be similar to what you are thinking! 
sillyness
I was looking through these and thinking how funny they are.
I need to print them and do a simple collage layout or something. they are golden! I am thankful they have each other.
I woke up this morning with a nervous stomach! I had an hour or so to myself, before anyone else woke up… so rare. I can tell it’s the show this week. I have so much to do!
