Black Belt Scrapping

Flat Tina in Sin City - Monday

Yesterday was a wild day here at CHA in Las Vegas and Flat Tina was really busy meeting and having her photo taken with some really exciting people, like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis.  Elvis is flat too, so that was really exciting.

S2H, we agree that some tatoos and piercings are a really good idea.  Oh, and your wife misses you badly!  She's doing well, however. 

Last night was the dinner for all of us who were selected as CK HOF runners up last year and our guests.  It was really fun to see everybody our our board again.  I took both Sam and Flat Tina as my guest, since Tina doesn't eat much.  We were going to go out for some later evening entertainment  ~ kind of like you suggested real Tina ~ but the theatres are dark on Monday nights.  Maybe Wednesday night!

Photos later, I'm out of time!  Taxi's leaving!

Flat Tina in Sin City - Preview

Meet Flat Tina.  Flat Tina is the cardboard and diamond glaze (we are in the land of bling, you know!) alter ego of our friend and former IP design team member Tina Kenney.  Tina couldn't join us in the flesh, so she's joining us in the cardboard on this trip.  Oh the adventures that Flat Tina is going to have!

We're off to CHA right away, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek of Flat Tina and her adventures in Sin City, starting last night.  Here she is with the Ghetto Fabulous Sam Cole and his two friends

As usual, we work hard, we play hard.  It's Vegas!

More updates later.  Happy Monday ~ I know ours will be! 

A Sad 20 Year Anniversary

They say it was the "JFK Moment" of my generation.  Today is the 20th anniversary of the Challenger exploding during takeoff over Cape Canaveral.  I can't believe that it's been twenty years, I really can't.

I remember that exact moment.  I had just come back from lunch at my first real job as a systems analyst at Marathon Oil Company in Findlay Ohio.  That was the job where my boss was Super Bowl QB Ben Roethlisburger's dad Eric was my boss (Ben was about 5 then ::::::: gulp ::::::::::.  That makes me feel old too, but that's another story).  I remember Eric getting us all together and telling us the news, then we went to an adjoining office to watch the television coverage.  To this day, my blood runs cold when I think about it.  It was a sad day.

Fast forward twenty short years or so and now it's a happy day.  It's Shannon's ninth birthday today, wow!  It's also TKD belt testing day, so I need to get running.  When we get back from testing today, we've got a family birthday party, followed by watching one of S's friends play basketball, and a dessert party later tonight (ugh...that's a diet-buster!).

Off to CHA tomorrow way before the sun comes up, so I don't know when the next blog entry will be.  Updates from Vegas will be coming and stay tuned for the exciting details as Flat Tina hits the Mean Streets of Sin City!

Putting up the February banner early this month....

Reminder...Never Piss off Oprah!

So, who watched Oprah yesterday?  What did you think?  I really have no opinion on the fact that James Frey lied about his experiences when writing his book A Million Little Pieces.  I think if you lie and pass your book off as non-fiction when it's not, you take your chances and pay any consequences if you get busted. 

Frey got busted by The Smoking Gun and consequently found himself being torn to shreds on live television by the Queen herself.  Ouch!  Too bad there is no anesthesia for an experience like that. 

It's obvious that it's not smart to piss off the most powerful woman in television.  To me, it's obvious that the reason Frey and his editor agreed to face this public flogging was because O basically told the publisher that if they didn't agree to face the music, no Doubleday books will ever be labeled with the "Oprah's Book Club" selection. 

I haven't read the book, but was planning on reading it this weekend on the way to CHA.  I'm still planning on reading it, because I hear it's great, even if parts seem unlikely.  Well now we know that they certainly were.  I'm okay with that.

So, was Frey right?   Did Oprah do the right thing?  Do you think book sales will go up because of all of the publicity?  I do.  I think Doubleday will laugh all the way to the bank.   As will Oprah.  Don't get me wrong, I love O, but I think what she failed to admit on the show yesterday is that this isn't only about honesty and embarrassment, but it's all about money too.

Happy Birthday Jeff Barron!

These days, I find that I can hardly remember my own name, never mind important dates, times and appointments.  That said, I have this odd and vivid recall of things from long ago.  Take Jeff Barron, for instance. 

Jeff was that guy that I had a crush on from seventh grade until the day I asked him to my senior prom and he turned me down cold.  That kind of ended my infatuation and any hope that I ever had. I can remember everything about him.  Today is his birthday, January 26th.  I remember his phone number (although I would have NEVER dreamed of calling it).  I remember that he was a wide receiver on the football team and wore #87.  I remember his car, although I never got to ride in it (or anything else for that matter!).  I remember his address, his middle name, his parents' names, and what his house looked like.  I remember where his locker was.  I certainly remember what he used to look like, but I know that he doesn't look like that any more (a la fifteen year high school reunion). 

So why is it that I can remember every bit of Jeff Barron trivia but I can't remember anybody else's phone numbers anymore and I can't remember the birthdays of my real and true friends for whom I care about?

I swear, giving birth and growing older really does warp one's mind.  That's just not right.  I wonder if Jeff Barron still remembers anything about me?   Maybe he knows my old phone number too, but was also just to chicken to call it.  Nah!

Since I don't have a photo of him handy, here's a photo for all of my friends who are into Grey's Anatomy.  This is what JB should have grown up to look like.....

Happy Birthday Jeff and may the rest of you have a McDreamy Day!

CHA and A2Z

It's crunch time getting ready for CHA this weekend.  I'm swamped!  Too much to do and not enough time, isn't that always the case? 

Shannon's birthday is Saturday and I'm totally uninspired when it comes to her birthday gifts this time.  She doesn't ask for much, so this time it's tough.  Gotta get out there and find the perfect birthday gifts.  Gift cards, here we come, I guess.  Anybody got any great gift ideas for a nine year old girl? We're celebrating her birthday on Saturday afternoon between TKD belt testing in the morning and a church function in the evening.  And a big high five to you know who that booked our flights to Las Vegas to leave at 6am on Sunday morning ~ woo hoo!  We're so going to party on that plane!

Speaking of CHA and Vegas, I finished these layouts yesterday for Heather at A2Z Essentials for the upcoming show.  Hope you like them!

Oh, and as you can probably see, my printer is working.  Yay!  All is well there and now I really love it!

Weight Lost...and Found

Monday is my official weigh in day.  I like doing it on Mondays because if I work it that way, I'm much less likely to stray with my eating on the weekends.

I was really looking forward to this week's official weigh in.  I had a great week last week ~ was very diligent about what I ate, walked a few times, lifted weights, and did seven (yeah, SEVEN) taekwondo classes.  I feel great ~ I feel much SMALLER.  My jeans are falling down ~ yay!

Anyhow, my only roadblock was Saturday night.  We went to a concert then were supposed to go out to dinner with friends, but the decision as to where to go wasn't going to be made until the last minute, which meant no preplanning and I had no say in the decision.  I hate that. I had basically eaten as little as possible all day in preparation and where did we end up going?  You got it, the big cahuna of diet busters....Mexican.   

I didn't do great, but it could have been a LOT worse.  I had one small glass of sangria, several chips (only because the salsa was GREAT), and then ordered grilled fish.   I didn't eat my sides, I counted all of my points.  I made up for what I was over yesterday, so I wasn't concerned.

Then I step on the scale this morning and I'm UP THREE POUNDS since Saturday, giving me a gain for this past week.  That's just WRONG, I tell ya.  WRONG, WRONG, WRONG....and frustrating.  I'm sure it's just temporary, but this is two weeks in a row now where I've worked really hard only to get nowhere. 

I feel as if I've been doing excellent, but as of this morning, I'm only down 4lbs and I should be down closer to eight if I'm going to make my goal in May.  Those goals are looking a lot more difficult when time gets shorter and the scale goes UP. 

Getting old sucks, it really does!   I swear, men can give up one beer and lose ten pounds.

A Sunday Game of Tag

Got tagged again...there's a lot of this going on lately.  I don't mind but from what I've read in blogville, some people do, so if I put your name down, feel free to ignore me!

The rules for this particular tagging are as follows: Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.

Courtney
Leah
Amy
Ginger
Barb

Then you get to select five people to pass the love on to.

Kelly Edgerton
Danielle Catalano-Titus
Anna Aspenes
Shabby Princess
Elizabeth Ruuska

Here are the questions.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Working and living in London - living a "Sex in the City" girl lifestyle without the sex!

What were you doing 1 year ago?
Pretty much the same as now...painting, scrapping, taking pictures, taekwondo training.  Exactly one year ago today, we were skiing in Vail.

Five snacks you enjoy (in no particular order, as all snacks are created equal):
1) Chips and Salsa
2) Popcorn
3) Potato Chips
4) Chips and Salsa
5) Chips and Salsa

Five songs to which you KNOW all the lyrics:
1) Everything by Tim McGraw
2) Everything by Toby Keith
3) Everything by Jimmy Buffet
4) The Michigan Fight Song, of course
5) All lyrics to all Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1) Pay off the house and remodel it just the way I want it
2) Have a home in London
3) Sell the $#%$#@$% Jeep
4) Invest like Jim Kramer on acid
5) Help some friends in financial need

Five bad habits:
1) Eat too much
2) Sit too much
3) Swear too much
4) Spend too much
5) Procrastinate too much

Five things you like doing:
1) Sing
2) Scrap
3) Sports
4) Snap photos
5) See friends and family

Five things you would never wear, buy, or get again:
1) another Zaring home
2) another Jeep Liberty
3) high waisted jeans
4) business suits
5) Maternity clothes ;-)

Five favorite toys:
1) cameras
2) laptop
3) DVR
4) Kitchen Aid Mixer
5) wide format printer

First time you got kissed: How was it?  I was 16 and it was my first boyfriend.  Well, Billy Knaggs stole a kiss from me behind the world map in the forth grade, but it wasn't mutual, so it didn't count as far as I was concerned.  Gross!

First time you drove a car: What kind of car? Driver's Ed - I was 16.

First time you scrapbooked: When I was 12 - do the math on how long ago that was!

First time you went on a date: I don't remember!  That's pretty lame, isn't it.  I know it wasn't before I was 16.

First time you fell in love: Again, age 16.  See first date and first kiss.

First time you cooked for someone: I was probably 12 or so.  My mom worked second shift, so I cooked dinner for my family a lot in the evenings.

First time you got on a plane: I was 17 and on my way to Mexico for foreign exchange.

First time you shaved your legs: Probably at age 3 or something.  I"m a dark brunette, remember?

First time you put on make up: don't remember.

First time you moved out of your home: I was 17 and living in San Luis Potosi' Mexico on foreign exchange.

Mission Organization

Well, it's finally almost finished.  The re-org of my craft area.  I feel like I have so much more space and I'm so much more organized.  Here are some pics of my new and improved storage.  The cute glass bottles were .77 at Hobby Lobby!

I'm leaving in a few minutes to road trip to Lexington Kentucky.  A bunch of my TKD classmates and my instructor are headed south to work out with our instructor's instructor.  A big butt-kicking is sure to be had by all! 

Have a great day!

It's THAT Time Again!

Oh yeah, it's THAT time of year again!  Let the obsessive Idol watching begin. 

I admit it, I love American Idol.  I didn't watch the first season, wasn't interested.  Then one night I clicked the television on while folding laundry in my bedroom and saw this geeky nerd named Clay be given a second chance to make it to the finals and I was HOOKED. 

There were some real doozies last night, like the chick with the tan and the "I Shot the Sheriff" guy.  Heh!   What on earth possesses people who are dreadful to audition for a show like that?  I have no idea, but it makes for some good laughs, that's for sure.

Tonight it's the Denver auditions.  When I was in Las Vegas back in October, they were doing auditions at the Convention Center, right next to Memory Trends.  You should have seen the crowds! 

Can't wait to see who my favorite is this season!