Balance

You know - sometimes I have these great blog entries in my head and then when I go to write them down, they somehow disappear into oblivion and I'm left with some blank entry that isn't deep or funny, etc. Same goes for the one today. I haven't really posted in over a week because I've been swamped but I have been thinking about my post. So, bear with me as I try to write something witty and funny (kind of like Meredith's monologue at the end of each Grey's).

I've been wanting to talk about the decision I made to create more balance in my life. This past weekend, I taught at Cord Camera in Macedonia and it was GREAT! Felicia (the manager) is one of the sweetest people on the planet and I tried to convince her to move to Cincinnati so we could hang out. (Felicia - if you read this - I'm telling you - I know a lot of cool people here. You'd have a great time!) Anyway - a few of the girls that came to my classes had went to CKU in Detroit and had asked about me and I received a few e-mails from scrappers wondering where I was. Basically, I have cut down my teaching at private stores as well as going to CKU because I wanted to have more family balance in my life. I wanted to spend more time with Scott and the girls and at one point in 2005, I was gone at least 1 week per month and it was just too much. So, when 2007 rolled around, I decided that I would do VERY limited private teaching and focus more on internal operations here at IP, etc. That's why you don't see me around as much as before. It is a decision that I made and fortunately others have been very supportive.

With that being said, I do have to say that I had a GREAT time in Macedonia with the girls at Cord and even talked about possibly going up again later on in the year. When we pulled in to the store, I was pretty excited to find the sign out front had my name on it. How cool is that?



Here's a photo of some of the girls in class. We had a great time - not only did we do a fun project, but we laughed and talked and I got to know the students and it was awesome. I LOVE meeting new people! Especially when they're good-hearted and fun! Plus, the Cord staff couldn't be better! Seriously - the sweetest people you'll ever meet! Even Kerig the photo guy was absolutely wonderful! I can't say enough good things about everyone there.



Anyway - I think a good time was had by all!

If you live in Ohio and want to take some cool classes...

Do I have a proposition for you! I will be at Cord Camera in Macedonia on April 28th teaching three SUPER fun classes. This is the first time in a long time that I've really looked forward to teaching my projects because I just LOVE them! I was surprised at how easy the Project Essentials line made it for me to put these together and I guarantee that if you take the classes, you'll LOVE them!

Cord Camera Macedonia Schedule

The first one is called "Year in Review". This little book was put together with some very fun Chloe's Closet and Office Supplied papers, plus embellished with cardstock stickers, coasters, buttons and more.




The second one is about "Goals". You know how everyone makes resolutions in the beginning of the year? Well, they don't always stick but I think that if you make goals, you're more likely to follow-through with them. That's what this fun little album is about.




Last but not least is the board book album - made primarily from "As You Wish". And, you guessed it - it's about YOU. These little board books (about 5" x 5") are smokin' hot!




In all seriousness, I cannot wait for these classes next week. Scott is taking off of work to drive up with me and we're doing the crop on Friday night. (Well, I'll be at the crop doing Make & Takes and giveaways - Scott will be watching ESPN back at the hotel - the football draft is next weekend.) I hear the crop is going to be a good time - complete with pizza and I plan on doing some serious giveaways. You might want to call Felicia at Cord and sign-up as soon as you can!

If you don't live in the Ohio valley, e-mail me if you're interested in any of the projects. I might be able to hook you up!

Hopefully this is a better week...

Last week was just too much. With Margaret's death, the funeral, and my mom having an emergency CT Scan because they thought she had appendicitis (turns out to be diverticulitis instead), I pretty much had a rough week. I'm praying that this one gets better.

Of course, we did have one bright spot in the week - Scott and I got a brand new Sonata. I have to be honest when I saw that I never thought I'd buy a Hyundai. I remember the days in the 90's when Hyundai's weren't necessarily your best car. They weren't Yugos, but they weren't Toyotas, either. However, with the rise in gas prices and our SUV that sucked gas constantly, we decided that we needed to check out the mid-size sedans and see what we could find. (Especially since Addie's car seat probably wouldn't fit comfortably in an RX-8.)

We had already test drove the Mazda6 (LOVED IT) but the dealer wouldn't work with me on pricing the way I wanted him to. (After trading in 13 cars in 12 years, I know how to harass a dealer!) I started asking friends and family about their cars because were were going to buy outside of Mazda and my SIL and Barb H. both have Sonatas and LOVE them. Like, serious LOVE. The type of love for a car that causes them to light up when they talk about it. They're simple cars, yes, but I'm an adult now and have realized that sometimes the basic cars are the good ones. Boy - were they right! I picked it out - Dark Grey. And, new car smell. LOVE new car smell.



Good thing is - my payment is cheaper, so I'll have it paid off about the same time or sooner than the Tribute. Plus, this baby has XM Satellite radio. I never realized how awesome that is! I've been enjoying my morning commute with my 80's, 90's and Hitlist channels and Maggie's pretty stoked about Radio Disney.

Anyway - not too sure what the purpose of my car post was except to say that I'm now the PROUD owner of a Hyundai. Maggie wants it when she turns 16. (I'm sure she'll change her mind by then!) But, hopefully it will be gas friendly (seems to be so far) and everything that my friends and family said it would be.

On a final note, if you do not know about Jen Gallacher and her little boy, Joey, please check out the link at the side of my blog. It's heartbreaking to think about everything her family must be going through right now. Anyway - Tania Willis has organized a benefit for the family and as someone who has been touched by cancer in her life, I know how much this can mean to someone. So - please check out the benefit information. There are a lot of great scrappers donating a lot of time and products and if you donate, your name may be drawn to receive one of the amazing gifts. I believe in the power of many.

Unfinished Pearls

For those of you who may not know, Maggie's real name is Margaret. When I was pregnant with her, Scott and I thought it would be fitting to give her a very classy name. My mom's best friend was Margaret. I grew up with her daughter and had actually grown very close to her, and since her children never had any plans to have children of their own, we thought we would name our daughter "Margaret", after mom's best friend. I remember one day Margaret telling me that it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her - and I was glad that we did it.

When Maggie was born, Margaret bought her a necklace and started the strand of pearls. Basically, every year, so many pearls would be added to the necklace so that when Maggie got married, she'd have a string of pearls (something old) to wear. Here's where I wanted to insert the photo but my camera is at home and I'm a bit frazzled right now.

Saturday we got a phone call. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon and I was vacuuming the living room floor. Scott was downstairs playing with the girls and I was getting the house cleaned up so we could meet his parents later. My brother called Scott's line and he brought me the phone. I figured he wanted to go out to eat or something, but when I took the phone, he had different news. Margaret died. Just like that. She was gone. Nothing expected, etc. He had my mom in the car and they were headed to the hospital to say their goodbyes. Mom wasn't doing well. She had just lost a good friend two months ago, but this was Margaret. They talked every day and got together often on the weekends to go shopping and eat dinner. This was different. This was the woman I named my daugther after. It was unexpected - she was only 63.

When I got to the hospital, I stood with my mom at Margaret's side. I prayed that God made her transition easy. I promised her I'd finish the pearls.

The service is sometime this week. I guess I'll find out today since they had to wait to make the arrangements due to the holiday. Ironically, I believe Easter was one of Margaret's favorite holidays. She had just brought Maggie a basket with a bunny on Friday. I don't think the bunny has left Maggie's side since.

I guess there is no moral to my story. I just wanted to get it out - type it out, put it in writing to make it more real. Right now, it doesn't seem real. I keep waiting for her to call me about Mom or send a little card over, etc. I also keep waiting for life to get just a bit easier.

Old Wives' Tales

You know - I've been thinking about all of these sayings and tales my mom has and how true they are. Especially now - they are VERY true to life. Thought I'd share a few of my favorites:

1) Whatever can go wrong, usually will. (I know this one - especially since I had to replace four tires on my car yesterday. I must have ran over something on the highway that blew one out and sliced the other. That was a great way to start my morning.)

2) It takes a friend and an enemy to hurt you. The enemy to do it and the friend to tell you about it. (Yes - but then they both are no longer friends.)

3) Throw a dog a bone and he'll bury you with it. (Pretty self-explanatory. I won't be throwing bones any more.)

4) Buy someone for what they're worth and sell them for what they think they're worth. (We refer to it as the "Diana Ross Syndrome". Ha!)

Had a great weekend!

You know, to be a scrapbooker, I'm HORRIBLE about photos. Therefore, I don't have many to post from this weekend because I had one heck of a good time at a crop on Saturday and took NO photos. That's right. None. But, I did finish 12 layouts (nothing groundbreaking of course) and caught up with some very good friends and new friends to boot! I can't wait to do it again. Here's one of my layouts - photo is crooked - I apologize for that.



On Friday night (I'm working backwards here, aren't I?), Scott had his belt ceremony. We ended up sitting Maggie out for this testing just because it's a different level and she was not ready for Senior Blue. Plus, it gave Scott a chance to catch up and be the same rank with Maggie. One of the reasons why I'm glad they're the same rank now, is that if and when they do become black belts, hopefully it will be at the same time. There was a father there giving a speech that evening regarding his daughter that had just earned her black belt and I became teary eyed. It was one of the BEST speeches I have ever heard. He told her how she was differentiating herself from the norm, and how she had something that even her daddy didn't have. It was so moving to see this father talk about his daughter with such raw emotion. Afterwards, I went up to the family to talk for a minute because I was so inspired by them. Even Scott said he got a little verklempt. (My girls know what I'm talking about!) Anyway, I DID get a photo of Scott with his new belt and Mr. Lewis - the instructor. (Relax girls - Lewis is taken. He has a very sweet girlfriend, Nim.)



Other than that - nothing is really going on. I'm trying to catch up on my sleep from Saturday still. (Got home close to 2 am - only because I was behind a drunk passed out at the wheel at an intersection and had to call the cops - that was fun - NOT!)