I'm almost OUT

...of scrapbook deadline insanity!!

Almost.

I still have an end of the month report to do and send something to try to be published.

(now you know why I've been missing in action....I had 3 deadlines to meet!)

And I have to drive to Oklahoma for my dad's surgery tomorrow.

Trying to finish up laundry.

Pack the kids. Pack myself.

Pack my scrapbook stuff for deadline while I am gone.

Remember everything I am supposed to remember.

Logan's baby turtle just died. Gotta go deal with that.

Crap.

*Sweetness*

See this beautiful girl, my dear friend Amber? Well, she had her little bundle of sweetness and here he is!
(it's a camera phone pic, so bear with me!)

Little cutie......Jayce Richard
Weighing in at 7lbs., 2ozs.
(3 weeks early, I might add!)

He was born on Monday at around 11am.
Amber called me not long after to deliver the news. (no pun intended)
And this little punkin' just makes the sweetest little squeeks
while he is sleeping. It's the cutest ever!

I only wish I was there to cuddle him myself!

Congratulations Amber and Rick!
He's beautiful!

I never thought 39 was that OLD.....

...UNTIL NOW!!!!

In the less than 2 weeks I've been 39, I've gotten out of bed twice unable to move.

That's right, kids...I COULD NOT MOVE.

Last Saturday I got up and my neck was shot. Serious pain.
I took 4 Advil and a "hot as I could stand it" shower....because I had to go teach a scrapbooking class. No time for an aching neck! Luckily, that worked and all was well.

UNTIL YESTERDAY.......

When I opened my eyes yesterday, it was clear, I was in trouble.

I barely shifted in the bed to get up, and I was rewarded with the HOT FIRE PAIN surging through my neck, back and shoulders. DOUBLE OUCH!!! I had a spot at the base of my neck, top of my shoulder blades and right in the middle that was on FIRE! I about died. I took 4 Advil, hoping for the same luck as on Saturday and left to drive Jensen to Summer school. In the car I learned the hard way....DO NOT TURN YOUR HEAD TO THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT!!! That hurt so bad!!!
(but this restriction doesn't work real well for driving!)

So, I came home in extreme pain and went to bed.
(where I remained for most of the day because it hurt to do anything, including just sitting up!) And this was not good for getting anything done!

Around 1:30, I was really hurting...so Big Daddy told me to take a Naproxen Sodium, so I did that and laid down with Marinne for her nap. And when I got up, the Advil had worn off and I was very frustrated I wasn't feeling better.

So, I went to sit in our hot tub, which helped a little.

Then, I took another blazing hot shower, which helped more.

And for the rest of the night, I just hurt.


But, I just got up and I'm feeling fine!
(well, a little stiff...but mostly fine....that counts for something!)

Good thing, because I have too many scrappin' deadlines for this!!!!!!


HAVE A GOOD ONE!!!!

LOTS OF INFO.......

***Ok, this started out a story about the Great American Scrapbooking Convention, but has morphed into so much more........ Read on for the update on the Convention, update on Jensen and his school stuff and some reunions with old friends!***





~So, I was so excited for this convention because I have never been to GASC and it's a HUGE, 3-day convention. The vendor floor was massive and I was duly impressed. The people in charge, namely a girl named Rose were so sweet.

My job, as always, was to teach people how to use the Bind-It-All. And once they try it, they buy it. And it's really easy to demo a product that you love. (I love my Bind-It-All!!! In fact, getting ready to use it for a mini-album today!)

The worst thing about this convention was that Texas HEAT!
They say everything is bigger in Texas....and believe me, this includes the
MASSIVE HEAT!!!!!!!!!!
(just ask me how bad it sucked schlepping boxes in at 4pm from the parking lot!!!!)

And this trip was not without MASSIVE DRAMA. Fed-Ex lost a very important box that my boss had shipped to Texas for our classes. A box that contained the pieces for the Texas-shaped chipboard album class. And believe me, this was horrid! But, with grit and determination, we were able to finally get out hands on the box on Saturday and Kim and I worked our little tails off to get the albums kitted and to the women by Saturday afternoon. But, we did it!

And as bad as all that was. A certain someone had to make things more difficult for us by insisting we be moved from her room. (we were there first) So, there we were....with a million (literally) pieces of scrapbooking materials spread all over 3- 8ft. tables, frantically trying to make these album kits before the convention was over ....and this woman insisted we move, just to be nasty. Well, all I have to say is...karma, baby, karma..... and that kinda behavior will get you the bad karma!!
It's only a matter of time before she will get hers.

Ok...now on to the good stuff!

So, one of my all-time bestest friends lives outside of Dallas.
Jennifer was a Delta Zeta with me. And she was a bridesmaid in our wedding.

So, before my trip....I called her and called her and called her, with no response.
I was soooo bummed.
Finally, when I was actually on the trip, I heard back from her.

Turns out, she had just finished the school year and was moving schools, so she was swamped busy. And, she and her family (4 kids, too) were moving to a new house that weekend, as well. They were SO busy. And she hadn't received any of my messages.

I was so happy to hear from her and she happily drove the hour to come see me!!
(and the best we could figure is...we hadn't seen each other in like 7 years....it had been
so long...we couldn't even 100% pin it down exactly how long it had been!)

So, she showed up and pitched right in helping us tear down the booth.
Whatta gal!

And then, she was rewarded by going to dinner with us! (and by us, I mean, ME!) :D

So, here Jen and I are, after dinner.
Remember, we are in Texas and we had sweated ourselves silly!
(and this was at like 10pm...after a very, very long and stressful day!!!)

Then, my trip home was a complete, Texas-sized disaster!!

A MASSIVE inconvenience!

My first flight was delayed because the computer on the teeny tiny jet crashed 2 times before push-back. So, we were waiting on the computer to completely re-boot twice before we could leave. (way to instill confidence in the passengers by telling us that!)

So, once we finally did leave we were 40 minutes behind.

And I only had a 50 minute connection time.

50 min. - 40 min. = 10 minutes from landing till take-off =
ME NOT HAPPY!!!!!!

so I asked the Flight Attendant.....do you think I'll miss my connection?
Oh no.....it should be fine. The pilot will make up the time in the air.
I wouldn't worry about it. You should have plenty of time.
(ok....lesson learning time....DO NOT trust what flight attendant tells you while
in the air.....they are just trying to placate you.
DUH...you'd think I'd have picked up on that one!!!!)

Anyway.... so we land 35 minutes late and I run for a total of 30 gates to attempt to make my connection. (now...picture this...... so I have these shorts on that I hadn't worn since a year ago. And because I have mostly maintained my 30lb. weight loss, they are now WAY TOO BIG. And because I forgot my belt at home.
They don't fit. At all.

And as I am running with me two very heavy bags of scrappin' stuff.....
...my pants are FALLING OFF. Literally!!!!! FALLING OFF!!!!!

So, I am running.
Sweating my butt off. (still in Texas - Houston)
Panting.
Hauling 2 huge bags.
My pants falling off.
About to have a heart attack. Or a stroke.
Yanking my pants up again.
So tired.... from 4 days of hard work and stress.

And as I run up to the gate...they shut the door.

NO!!!!!

"Sorry miss, you're too late!" they unapologetically tell me....

WELL CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I step to the counter and say, "Well, what do we do now?"

So, the woman starts typing on her computer.
And she finally says, "Well....all the flights to Tulsa are way overbooked today. But I can get you out first thing tomorrow morning." (said like this is no big deal)

I FREAKED OUT.

"WHAT?!?! NO, NO, NO...I say!
That's not good enough. This is not MY fault. YOUR airline was late.
YOU MADE ME MISS MY CONNECTION.
I just ran 30 gates trying to make the connection. That was my part.
Your part is to figure out how to get me home TODAY!!!!!"

At this point, the exhausted and frustrated girl begins to cry.

She types more and tells me there is nothing she can do.

And I begin to sob.

I then say to her... "Ok. I am going to go to the restroom and try to calm down for a minute. When I come back, I trust the you will have a plan to get me home. TODAY.
Please figure it out....
It's not my fault I was late!
It's not my fault you have overbooked your flights.
And I have no intention of spending another night in Texas.
I have plans to see a dear friend tonight. And I have to be in Tulsa tonight."

And I then, walk off to the bathroom.

When I return, the gate agent is still on the computer.

But, within minutes...I have vouchers for lunch and a
FIRST CLASS TICKET on the next flight to Tulsa.

Oh ya, baby!!!!!!!

************************
BUT... the kicker is....my 2nd flight was delayed an hour, too........because, get this...of a broken armrest. Yep, you heard me. A broken armrest.
RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, at this point, I was laughing. I mean really....what else can you do?!

They had lined us up to load, then told us they were delaying the flight.
People were G.R.U.M.P.Y.
So, I decided to walk to the restroom to take a little break.
And when I returned to the gate, there were no chairs.

So, I spotted a spot on the floor by a nice looking guy.
I walked over and asked if he minded if I sat next to him.
He laughed and said he didn't mind.

So, I sat and we started the small talk.
"Where have you been? Where are you going? kinda stuff."
And I about fell over when he said he was coming home from a conference for his job, which is working with a Pediatric Opthamologist in Tulsa.

I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT.
(in fact, so much so, I gently shoved his arm and said SHUT UP! when he said it)

So, anyway...I told him....I know you probably don't wanna talk work, but I would realllllllly appreciate your insight on something. Well, then he was intrigued, so I began to tell him about the trouble Jensen has had in school with reading and everything we've been through trying to figure out the mystery of it all.
(read about that here.)

**(for that matter...I never updated about the progress with that. At the school he stayed in the afterschool program the entire year. In addition to that, I took him to a Optometrist that does extensive testing. And in April they determined that Jensen is reading nearly 2 years behind and they know that although his vision is better than 20/20, he is having trouble focusing his eyes and his eyes "stutter" at times when moving, rather than moving smoothly together.

Well, after over $500 in testing that our vision insurance denied.....
...they had recommended this "eye therapy" plan to help Jensen. And of course, our vision insurance won't pay for the 8 months of vision therapy they say he needs.
(for a grand total of over $2000)

Now, this is not about the money.......I'd do anything for this child.

A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

The trouble is....there is no guarantee it will work.
(i mean...of course they say it will work, but what if we waste all that time...
8 months worth of time....and it doesn't work?!

By then, Fourth Grade will be more than half over....

And for some reason, I just haven't had the best "feeling" about it.

It just bothers me that if it's a ligitimate treatment....WHY won't insurance pay for it?
And why is there no study that PROVES it will work?
So, I have hesitated starting him in the "therapy."
(plus we still owe like $240 for the testing phase of this, which our insurance denied)

So, back to the airport......

So, I share with him the "readers digest" version of what we've been thru with Jensen.

And I share with him the reasons for my apprehension of putting Jensen in the eye therapy program. And to my surprise, he sided with me. He told me that there is basically a "division" between the opinion of the pediatric "Optometrists" and the "Opthamologists." Well, initially, I was looking for a Pediatric Opthamologist, but I could not find one. (you see, in Kansas, there is some weird law regarding insurance and the eye doctors, in which they can't advertise themselves as "pediatric" specialists or something to that effect.....so when I search my insurance, I can't see what type of specialty they have. Weird...I know. But, it is what it is......)

So, long story longer.......

...after I finished the story of what all we've done, he basically told me that I was right, there is NO PROOF that the vision therapy plan as outlined to me will work.

....also he told me the name of what he believes that Jensen most likely has.

...and without me telling him, he knew that Jensen had migraines.
(Jensen was diagnosed at age 6)

...and he's agreed to help me find a doctor for Jensen in our area.
(most likely it will be in Kansas City - 1 to 1 1/2 hours away)

So, hopefully, we will have a new, improved plan very soon.


And, like I told him.....
"I know God brought you to me!"

And I'm so very thankful.....

...and a MASSIVE BLESSING!!!!!!!


In the meantime, Jensen was doing additional therapy afterschool for 1 1/2 hours once a week with his classroom teacher. And then, he's been in Summer school this month.
(it ends on this Friday.....and then, he gets a break)

So, I hope to get a plan in July.


**********************

Ok, back to the trip story.

Well, I eventually made it to Tulsa and they lost my suitcase.

Yep. I go to baggage claim and wait till the very end. And my suitcase is not there.

I look one way, and there is the AA baggage claim office. The other side has the Delta baggage claim office. And I look around and there is no other airline baggage office.

WELL....GREAT!!!

So, I wander over to an information desk to a lady who tells me I need to go down to the ticket counter and stand in line to try to see if they can find my suitcase.

(now...let me tell you....I won't be working till August so I came home with over $200 of scrapbooking stuff in that suitcase, between what I bought and property of SNS.
BELIEVE ME....I WAS GONNA FREAK OUT IF THEY LOST MY SUITCASE!!!!!)

So, I go down to the ticket counter and wait in line only to find out....
...my suitcase made my original flight.

Figures........

Lucky for them it wasn't lost....


So, later that night I had plans to meet up with an old college roommate, Jenny.
Jenny and I met in the Fall of 1987. And we lived together in 1990-1991. (that was so much fun!) And then, Jenny lived with Ike and I for a short time back in late 1995.
Jenny was also a bridesmaid in my wedding.

Now, just a few months ago I received a surprising email telling me that after all this time, and at age 39....Jenny is expecting her 3rd child!

Well, Jenny looks beautiful, of course. With child and everything.
And again, this photo was taken at about 11pm, after another reallllly long day! And when I took Jenny home, we stayed out talking, laughing and crying till wee into the morning hours. It was just like when we shared a bedroom.

Minus another roommate.

And seeing her and her entire family was so great!!!

Here's a favorite Jenny story. When we lived in our apartment, we had a roommate we loved, but who could be a bit bossy at times. Now, Jenny and I weren't dirty, just unorganized and messy. And when we would be in the kitchen, we would rinse the dishes, but not always immediately wash them. Well, this would infuriate our roomie.
And she'd really gripe at us about this A LOT.
You know, the whole "that's how you get bugs" and "were gonna have bugs" speeches were getting pretty old. Especially when we didn't ever see ONE BUG EVER!!
(and remember, the dishes were clean, just not washed.....)

So, Jenny and I being who we are....decided to make a point.

So, she and I made hundreds of giant bugs out of construction paper and taped them all over the kitchen. On the counters. On the cabinets. On the orange juice inside the refrigerator. On the canned food in the cabinets.

It was HILARIOUS, I'll tell you. H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.!!!!

And our roomie was furious!!!!

But, we made our point!


Ah, memories................

or should I say MASSIVE MEMORIES!!!!!! LOL!!!

SATC, Part III

I've now seen the movie 3 times and I still loved it!!


It's bordering upon an obsession...
(but I'm okay with that.)

SEX and THE CITY!!

(...the long overdue post for Tammy!)


**DO NOT read this post unless you have seen the movie!! It contains spoilers!!** Of course, I went to see the movie the day it opened. I COULD NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!

Big Daddy even came home early to watch the kiddos so I could get there to buy my ticket. And it just so happened that I was able to get a ticked for 4:45pm, which qualified as a Matinee and saved me $2.00 which was good because the giant bucket of popcorn and Diet Coke I splurged on as my "dinner" was $11.00!! And for the record...it was FABULOUS!!!!

Now, I went to the movie alone. Yes, there were groups and groups of girlfriends coming to see the movie together, but that did not happen for me. You see, my one real friend, Kelly, has never seen SATC. So, although she said she would go, I couldn't even ask her to when it's so expensive for tickets, etc. But, once I knew Big Daddy was coming home, I called and left her a message about an hour before and said I was going if she wanted to go. Big Daddy even offered to watch her 6 year old so she could go. So, she decided to meet me. And although I saved her a seat next to me, they told her it was SOLD OUT! (along with all the rest of the showings for the evening - at 4:30 in the afternoon!!) So, I was dissapointed Kelly could not get in. What a bummer!

Well, there was a nice lady sitting next to me. She was a little older than me, probably around 50. And for whatever reason, she decided to tell me she heard someone was going to die in the movie.

At this point, I say...."you are no longer allowed to talk" and I meant it! I was so upset!
(although, she thought I was "kidding," I can assure you I wasn't!!!!)

So then, all I could do is sit there waiting for the movie to start and pray that Samantha didn't die of breast cancer. (which due to losing my mother to breast cancer, I knew would push me over the edge.)

When the movie finally started, the whole movie theater began to cheer. It was so awesome! I actually had tears in my eyes as the theme music began to role! (I know, it seems a little dramatic, but I really love this show.)

I was so happy to see where the romance with Carrie and Big (aka. John James Preston) would be. And I was thrilled to find them still together. And it was just so awesome when she called out to him, "John...." No more "Big." (not that she ever called him that to his face, but you get what I am saying....)

I was so happy to see Charlotte and Harry w/ their daughter, Lily and living happily. What a cute family!

I enjoyed seeing Miranda and Steve still together, although, it didn't take long to see that their marriage was seeing some tests. But, I think as down-to-earth as they are, we assume they will be ok no matter what.

And Samantha. Well, I can say I was surprised to see her to still be with Smith. (since she clearly has commitment issues.) And it wasn't long before you could see that the struggle was becoming too much for her. Poor Smith. He was such a gem during her chemo and everything they had been thru.....

For me the highlights of the movie were these:

Once Carrie sees the Penthouse apartment and says, "Hello, I live here!" (a derivative of "Hello, Lover...." -- one of my personal favorite lines from the series!) And Big declares he will build her a walk-in closet!

After Big buys the apt. Carrie worries she will have no claim to it if she breaks up w/ Big, so she suggests they should get married. Big agrees to this. He says, "should we get you a diamond?" Carrie says no, "Just get me my big closet!"

And boy does he! The biggest, most beautiful closet I have ever seen!

In preparation for the wedding, Carrie finds a "label-less" vintage suit which is declared all wrong by the wedding planner. But, she loves it and says she will wear it, until.......

Carrie goes to see her Editor at Vogue, Enid (played by Candice Bergen -- who I was shocked how old she looked in only 4 years!) Anyway, they wanted her to do a wedding dress spread for Vogue on being the "last" 40 year old bride. Honestly, I thought the article title was ridiculous, but the photos in the movie were breathtaking. Here's one to feast your eyes on! And of course, as only you could expect as Carrie Bradshaw, the designer of the dress, Vivienne Westwood sees the photos and sends her the dress as a gift.

And with the receipt of "the" dress, all of a sudden the wedding plans turn from "simple" to "complicated" and somewhere in the middle of all of it....Big starts freaking out just a little.

And when they discuss writing their vows, Big's apprehension is obvious. He claims "love letters" are not his style when Carrie asks if he had ever written one about her.

But, plans continue and Carrie sells her apartment, preparing to move into the Penthouse apartment with Big.

At some point, we start to see the cracks in Miranda and Steve's marriage. They make love after a very long dry spell....and near the end....Miranda basically asks Steve to just get finished. Well, Steve being the sensitive guy he is gets upset. And Miranda feels bad, but can't help how she feels.... (now, what kills me about this scene is that when they talk about how long it's been since they were together, she has plenty of excuses. I work. Brady to take care of. Blah, blah, blah! Whatever!!! Although, we sometimes have little "breaks," we have 4 kids, Big Daddy's job and all the work/laundry/stuff that comes w/ being a SAH Mother. And I DON'T have a nanny or a housekeeper, so whatever!!)

Anyway, it isn't much longer before Steve comes and confesses to Miranda that he's had an affair and honestly, the scene broke my heart. You know, he finally broke down the cynical Miranda and he screwed her over in the end. How sad! She was devastated. And I would be, too. So, Miranda leaves him. (broke my heart, but like I said, I understand how she felt and didn't blame her one bit, although Steve was remorseful....)

The girls all show up to help Carrie pack. And in one of the funnest scenes in the movie, (set to the kicking version of "Walk this Way" by Run DMC and Aerosmith ...seriously, download the Soundtrack...it rocks!!) Carrie does a "fashion show" of many of the outfits she wore during the series and the girls "vote" and what gets to stay and what has to go! My favorite is when she puts on the white skirt from the "opening" of the original series where she turns standing in front of the bus...and the all vote she gets to "TAKE" it with her to the Penthouse. (remember the one?)


Well, the wedding is fast approaching and the stress of it all is building.

And at the rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding, there were several memorable moments.

#1 - the jerk from Big's office harassing him for this being his 3rd marriage, making comments to this end

#2 - Samantha putting the jerk in his place when interrupting her during her "toast" to Big for finally getting "Carried" away! (awwww....)

#3 - Steve showing up at the dinner uninvited and asking to speak to Miranda. He begs Miranda for forgiveness, but in the end only more upsets her. And when she walks in, Big asks if she is ok. She responds, "No. And you are crazy to get married! Marriage ruins everything." (Oh. My. Gosh. You cannot say this to a guy like Big!!)


The next thing you know is Big is in the bar of the restaurant and Carries has to go find him. (this cannot be a good sign)

When they leave the dinner, the girls go to have a "girls night." And during it, Big calls Carrie and confesses he's having trouble with his vows and is freaking a bit.

Carrie reminds him, it's only them. Him and Her. And that seems to calm him down.

But the following morning, Carrie shows up late (due to traffic) at the library to be married. And Big is not there. He was sitting there watching her get out of the car. He had been calling her cell phone, but Lily (Charlotte's 4 year old) has taken Carrie's phone and Carrie had not known he was calling her freaking out.

And in the end....Big freaks and leaves, rather than come in to get married.

I was in shock.

After all this time, how could he does this to Carrie. (although, it's typical Big behavior!)

So, she calls him and Big tells her that he has left, that he couldn't get out of the car. Carrie freaks and shrieks for them to "get me outta here!" The devastation on her face, the betrayal.... It was heart breaking.

So, as big is driving away....he realizes what a huge mistake he has just made and orders Raul (the limo driver) to turn around, although they are on a one-way street. And as the 2 cars come near each other, Carrie jumps out and heads to Bigs car.

Which leads to one of the most emotion filled, moving scenes in the movie. (and one of my favorites)

As Big steps out of his limo, Carrie approaches screaming at him and beating him with her wedding bouquet until it is shreds. Then Charlotte and Miranda drag her back to the limo. And as Big tried to approach Carrie, he gets this "death glare" from Charlotte, who forcefully tells him "NO!" And from the look on her face, you can see she means it! The "mama bear" in her has definitely surfaced!

With the wedding cancelled, the girls all end up in Mexico on the honeymoon trip.
(this is when some of the funniest and saddest parts of the movie occur)

#1 - Carrie falls into a deep, deep, dark depression. Holy crap, SJP deserves and emmy for this performance! She made this all so believeable. She looked terrible. Empty eyes. Refused to eat. Slept non-stop and basically looked comatose for days. And in the one of the most touching scenes was Samantha spoon feeding Carrie. Oh. My. Gosh. I bawled like a baby. (It was at this point that the stupid lady next to me's revelation of "someone will die" made me freak out. Was Carrie gonna kill herself? I'm glad to report she didn't!)

#2 - Miranda is laying out w/ the girls and Samantha teases her about her growing a "national forest" in her bikini area. HILARIOUS in the movie, when you actually see it! But, when Samantha claims that "I could be on death row and not have that situation!" I about died laughing!

#3- Carrie finally comes out of the bedroom to join the girls out on the patio. She suggests they go to the hotel restaurant for dinner, saying "I need to get myself out of my Mexi-Coma!"

And Samantha replies, "Oh honey, good for you...you made a little joke!"

#4- Charlotte was paranoid to drink the water/eat the food in Mexico and ate nothing but pudding cups from Poughkeepsie, NY the entire vacation. But, after exercising during her shower, she took in a mouthful of water, before realizing what she had done and spitting it out. And after exercising the next day, she was in intestinal duress and she "poo" keepsied in her pants. I laughed so hard I was crying! (well, my family finds poop humor hilarious...so of course, I did.) But, it was also the "pristine" Charlotte doing something like that....it was priceless!!! And all the girls died laughing...even Carrie. Which causes Carrie to narrate, "when something was really funny, I laughed."

(ps....it was at this point when she wasn't eating/drinking the food/water in Mexico and her lack of drinking....I realized she was pregnant. So, I leaned over and told the big mouth next to me! *karma, baby!!*)


So, when they return to New York....Carrie hires and assistant to help her undo all the wedding stuff.

She hires "Louise" from St. Louis. Now, this part was played by Jennifer Hudson. And although, I knew she was on Am. Idol and eventually got an award for Dreamgirls, which I never saw, I didn't know much about her. But, I thought she was a cute addition and I loved her even though Carrie told her to delete Big's emails, she didn't.
(more on that in a minute!) And I love that she "rents" her designer bags!

So....not long later, Carrie watches Lily for Charlotte who goes to the doctor and finds out that a miracle has occured and she's Pregnant!!! (yes, it does happen in real life, too. Often, you stop the pressure from all the stress of trying and boom...you're pregs! Trust me, I know!)

And as Charlotte progresses in her pregnancy, she stops her "running." And Harry calls Carrie about it. And Carrie talks to Charlotte about her fears. Asking if the doctor says it's ok. (and she did) (But, believe me, when you have a miscarriage....it's always in your mind) Carrie asks, "What makes you think something bad will happen?"

And Charlotte answers, "Because nobody gets everything they want. Look at you. Look at Miranda. You're both good people but you both got shafted. I'm so happy and something bad's gonna happen."

But, Carrie encourages her to run. Saying, "Sweetie, you shit your pants this year. I think you're done!"

(which may be the single most funny line in the entire movie! Again, I was laughing until I cried!)



The months roll by and Christmas comes. And Carrie gives Louise a Louis Vuitton bag for Christmas! She states it was one of best gifts she has ever bought! Very touching!

Then, there is the scene were Carrie runs over to Miranda's apt. on New Years Eve and the beautiful version on that Auld Lang Syne song. (Download this!!!!!)

And, on Valentines Day....Samantha and Smith have a huge scheduling problem that leads to the beginning of the end of their relationship.

And Carrie and Miranda go to dinner at a restaurant, with Valentines "on steroids" and Miranda confesses to Carrie what she said to Big. And Carrie loses it. (can you blame her?) Telling Miranda...I've been racking my brain for months and you don't tell me this for 6 months?!? And she says she doesn't keep things from Miranda, taking it back to say..."I think you refusing to forgive Steve is a big mistake. There, now I've kept a secret from you, how does it feel?!" Miranda begs her not to go, but she storms out anyway fighting w/ balloons the whole way.

At some point Charlotte confesses to Carrie that she's been fantasizing about what she would say if she ran into Big. And she says her opening line would be "I curse the day you were born."


And after Carrie tells Miranda it's a big mistake not to forgive Steve, they go to marriage counseling together. And the therapist tells them they can't see each other for 2 weeks. And at the end of 2 weeks, they must meet at an agreed upon location at a certain time. By meeting there, they both agree they are willing to forgive the past and move on.


Of course, Miranda the lawyer, argues both sides of her case, but realizes that the list Steve is making about her has more Cons than Pros on it......and runs to meet him in time. And when they meet on the bridge halfway between the two houses.... well, I cried again. Because I really love them together.

And near the end of the movie, she gets her chance. She sees Big at a restaurant and runs to avoid him. But, he follows her. And outside the restaurant, she tells him "I curse the day you were born!" and she gets so upset her water breaks! She yells for a cab, but of course, Big's Car is right there and he insists on taking her to the hospital. And he does and he waits for the baby to be born. (but mostly waiting for Carrie to show up at the hospital)

And sometime during that waiting time, he asks Harry to ask Carrie to call him. She hadn't responded to any of his "letters."

When Carrie hears this, she insists to Harry there are no letters. And Harry asks, "Why would he say that, then?" And all of a sudden, Carrie remembers the emails she told Louise to delete.

She figures out they are in a locked file on her laptop and discovers the password is LOVE. And she reads the retyped love letters from all the famous authors from Carrie's love book.

And finally, one from John, himself. Even though, he claims love letters are "not his style." (watch the movie, if you wanna know what it says!)

And in the end, Carrie goes to the Penthouse, which is now sold, to pick up the one pair of shoes she left in the fantastic closet and Mr. Big is there. And there, they reconcile and he asks her to marry him on bended knee...in the closet he built for her....using the diamonds on the Manolo Blahnik shoe as his engagement diamond.

And they do. In a simple wedding at the courthouse. Alone. Just them Him and Her.
And she wears the "label-less" suit.

But, John James Preston knows what Carrie needs.......her girlfriends. And he has them waiting in the hall as soon as they come out of City Hall.

And....here's proof I watched all the way thru the credits. Just soaking it all in. I absolutely LOVED it!!!


Now, when I got home, I was inspired by these belts Carrie is wearing in the movie. They are edgy. But, of course, Carrie Bradshaw can pull them off w/ girly outfits.


So, here's the card I made. I used WorldWin Silver and Black gloss papers.
Pretty cool, huh?

THIS "Do-Over" Birthday Rocked the Casbah!!!!

So, Jensen went back to work with his daddy after lunch today. He just loves going with him and I think the special time together is good for both of them!

Anyways, they left work early, due to the working 37hours in a row....and came home with these cool balloons... ...and this, a huge ice cream cake! Super yum!
Chocolate w/ vanilla ice cream and that whipped cream icing!

Isn't this cake festive, too! (Jensen picked it out!) So, while Big Daddy lit the candles...Jensen was taking pictures. I was happy at first, until I realized that the candles must be showing 93....not 39!!!! LOL!! Jensen seemed to find this completely hilarious! Little Stinker!! So, we flipped the cake around and tried that one again! Then, in his quest to get the candle blowing shot...he got this picture. And I think it's pretty darn cool!!!!

Gives new meaning to "make a wish and blow out the candles!"

And all the kids approved of the cake...... Now, if you feel like one is missing, you're right! Logan has been in Oklahoma for 1 1/2 weeks..hanging out with the Grandparents!! (and actually....it's his birthday today!)

Na na na na na! Today is your BIRTHDAY!!!

...it's my birthday, too...ya!

Yea...it was my birthday today.

I'm 39. And holding...

But, it wasn't much of a birthday.

The weather has been insane. Tornadoes everywhere.

My husband has been at work for over 37 hours trying to deal with the massive news coverage. I feel so bad for him. He works so hard. Although, he's finally home and we've made it safely thru another tornado tonight.....he'll have to be up and back at work at 7am tomorrow. Poor guy!

Lots of people were hurt.

Lots of property destroyed.

Really puts my birthday into perspective.

But, even though he's completely exhausted.....

...Big Daddy took time to tell me I deserve a Birthday "do-over!"

A MIRACLE HAS OCCURED IN OUR HOUSEHOLD!!!!

I'd like to announce that after 12 years of changing diapers nearly NON-STOP...

(about a 6 month break between Jensen and Griffin, way back in 2002!!)

WE HAVE A DIAPER FREE HOUSEHOLD!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!

WAY TO GO, MARINNE!!!!

Anniversary....

So, Ike and I celebrated our 16th anniversary on May 23rd.

(yes...I know I'm way behind...thanks for reminding me! HA HA!!)

Anyway, I think I've mentioned I've been teaching Logan to cook and he has great interest in it. Well, Logan made this special dessert for his dad and I for our anniversary and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Thanks, sweetie.....for the sweets! You're a doll! (and a great baker!)

More Scrappy Stuff!!!!

I've got another card on the front page of The Paper Mill Store.com!

It's a card for my dad, so Janet....make sure he doesn't see it!!
Check it out HERE!

This card is made of this fabulous cardstock by Eames which has a square quilted pattern in it. As soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to need to ink that up to really amp up the texture in the paper. And it turned out beautifully!! You should head right over to ThePaperMillStore.com and order some of this fab paper today!!!!!

SO....WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THE *FaNtAsTiC* Summer Contest at The Paper Mill Store.com Design Team Blog?!?!?!?!


YOU KNOW YOU DO!!

How about the AWESOME PRIZES, including papers from the Paper Mill Store, a few autographed books from Ali Edwards and Stacy Julian, a fantastic book about color...called Pantone ( I have this book and it's beautiful!) AND the new --not yet released--
Art Declassified rubber stamps by Donna Downey!

So, pop on by to see the specifics on how to win these prizes and check out my Father's Day card. Let me know what you think about it by posting a comment for me
on TPMS.com Design Team Blog!!

Scrappy Stuff....

Did you happen to see this?!


This is a beaded necklace strung of paper vellum beads that I made of WorldWin Metallic Vellum in Papaya. Isn't this so cool?!?!

If you missed it, since it was only up a day and I neglected to let you know....
click on this link (Paper Crazy Blog) to check it out, with step-by-step instructions
to make a vellum bead necklace or bracelet of your own.

We even have an awesome little slide show, so you can see each step!

If you try it out, drop me a pic of your creation so I can post it online!

School's OUT, School's OUT!! Teachers let the bulls OUT!!!!!!

HOLY MOLY!!!!

Here's the picture of Logan's 6th grade class. Poor guy wasn't even there on picture day due to a fever of 103. But, my point of this picture is....6th grade is over and my eldest child is in JUNIOR HIGH!!!!!!!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!?

Here's Logan and a couple of friends at the "yearbook signing" party on the last day of school. (it cracks me up the variation of their sizes!!) And here's Logan with his homeroom teacher. He actually has had 4 teachers this year. They each specialize in certain subjects. He really loved them all, but Ms. Fairchild was a very special teacher to him.


While at the signing party, I had Griffin and Marinne with me. After they ate a cookie each, they were sorta bored. But, just then the sweetest little 6th grader named Courtney came and asked Marinne to sign her book. (Now Courtney has Down Syndrome and she was sweet as a peach!) Marinne was overjoyed and I snapped this one of the 2 girls together.
(thanks Courtney, it meant so much to Marinne to get to do it, too!) After about 30 minutes with Logan at his party, we were off to Jensen's classroom to see Mrs. Bush and give her the calendar.

Mrs. Bush and Jensen had gotten very close this year and she's been a great advocate for him. We appreciate her so much! So, after we left school for the year, I played the role of "Best Mom in the World" and took them to Cold Stone Creamery for the best ice cream ever! (even though, they had already had a ton of sugar at school!!)(this picture cracks me up.....Griffin giving himself the "bunny ears" and Jensen ignoring me completely! It's so hard to get a picture of 4 kids that is decent!!!)

How do I have a 7th grader, a 4th grader and a boy going into Kindergarten? Doesn't hardly seem possible....

But, at least we get a Summer Break for now!

The Ultimate Teachers Gift.....

Obviously, this isn't the whole calendar, but it is a few pages of it.

I started out w/ Mary Frances' kits, then added my own spin to them!

(and by spin I mean....lots and lots of bling! Read: Stickles!!!!

And since I came home from Manchester on Monday...sick, sick, sick.

I was very thankful to have all the precut pieces to throw 2 of these together in a few hours on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning! Thanks Mary Frances! You totally rock!!!!

CKC - Manchester, New Hampshire

I know, I know......

...it seems a bit silly to be blogging about my last "work trip" when I am currently gone on my next "work trip." But, since I have been so busy, that's exactly what I am doing!

To my delight, as I was flying into Manchester, I much enjoyed the scenery. It was beautiful, and to my surprise, I saw so much color. More like Fall, than like impending Summer. I snapped this at the airport while waiting for Tim to pick me up. Work was super busy, like always. Set up always takes longer than you wish it would, but it's just part of the gig. Really it's not too bad. It's kinda a challenge and sometimes like completing a giant 3-D puzzle. And it's exhausting.

So, we followed set-up with a bite to eat in the hotel bar and I calmed down w/ this.

A Stoli Vodka Martini. It was so fun. Fruity and it had a lighted ice cube in it!

Speaking of FUN....this is Kim's hubby, Tim. (Yep....Tim and Kim....aren't they just so cute!) Anyways, this is the first time I had met him and he is such a fantastic guy. The most fun about getting to know him was to see how much he loves my good friend (and boss) Kim. I have no doubt, he'd give her the moon! (and does!) He worships the ground she walks on....and it's just so sweet! I really enjoyed seeing them together and how they mesh together. They brought their cutie-pie daughter Jordan with them on this trip. She's such a sweetie. And, that girl can scrapbook!!! (more on this in a moment!)

Speaking of scrapbooking....I had my weekly WorldWin Papers deadline while I was gone, so on Thursday night....I created this beauty. It's WorldWin Cascata and Vellum and Zsiage patterned papers. I just loved the funky fold I came up with for this one!

Apparently, so did someone else.

Because I had the card in the booth to show it to Kim and someone STOLE IT!!!!
(I was kinda irritated at first, but have decided to take it as a compliment,
even though it's so frustrating!!)

Oh...and the funnest thing happened on Saturday! I was at my Bind-It-All demo table and a cute lady walked by. She looked familiar, but I don't know anyone up in NH. But, just as I was about to dismiss her as familiar...I saw her name badge.

Mary Frances F.

And then it hit me.....she's the owner of a scrapbooking message board I frequent...
www.scrapbookeronline.com !!

And sure enough, it was her!!!

I was so excited! I grabbed her and hugged her! I was so happy!

She was at the show teaching some classes using.....THE BIND-IT-ALL!!!!!
(and lucky for me her class was the "Ultimate Teachers' Gift" so I bought 2 of her
extra kits and took them home to put together for the boys' teachers! ----
look for pics of these in the next post!)

So, that was totally fun!

The rest of the week we were so busy. I didn't take a picture from Thursday night until Saturday. After breaking down the booth, we went to a fantastic Italian place down the street from our hotel. While we were waiting, we took some fun photos.

Jordan wanted to take some pics w/ my camera, so I let her. Here are Kim and I.
Thought this one was a really cute photo! Nice job, Jordan!!
Then, she wanted to take the "silly" pics! So, I played along....

...then, it was my turn to snap one of her! Then, I was telling Jordan about my boys saying "Peace Out Home Dog!" and teaching the saying and the silly motions that go with it to their little sister.

Jordan found this to be hilarious!

So...she took the pics of me doing it.


Peace.


Out. Home. Dog. And yes, I followed these pics with a fantastic dinner of Veal in a
sherry sauce with Asparagus. It was delicious!!!! (no wonder I came home 5lbs. heavier than when I left Kansas the week before!! Ha ha!)


All in all....it was a fantastic time.

And Jordan and I really bonded.
She shared so many of her purchases with me. (sweet little thing)

And best of all...she made me a scrapbook with the sweetest message ever! Jordan....you rock!!!! :D