6 Degrees

A Stand In

Howdy!  Came back from the show on Wednesday afternoon.  Had a fabulous time!  Reconnected with so many great people.  Really fun to see the show from the other side vs. being tethered to the booth all of the time.  Going through photos this weekend and will post more about the show on Monday.

Wanted to share something special that happened while I was gone.  I called home one night and Nick shared this story.  Nick and Sam took me to the airport bright and early on Saturday morning last week.  I was telling Nick that my new business cards had barely arrived and Sam wanted to see one.  Sande had designed them for me and they had my photo on them.  Sam took it and that was that.

Later that week, Nick went to tuck Sam in and Sam had the card laying next to him on his pillow.  He slept with it while I was gone!  He also put it in his pocket every day and carried it around with him at school!

Sam's my sweet one.  Still mushy and lovey, even in 2nd grade.  He's the one that still runs up to me when he sees me at school and gives me a big ole smooch on the lips, regardless of who's around.

So, when she's traveling, what's better than mom not being around?  The stand in mom in paper format.  You sleep in a twin bed?  No problem, mom's card can sleep right next to you.  Better yet, she won't steal the covers. Want to take her to school?  Slip her right in your pocket and she'll be with you all day.  Don't want to eat all of your vegetables for dinner?  No worries, the best part about stand in mom - she can't talk!

Thank You!

Thank you so much for the comments, emails and phone calls.  I cannot tell you how it feels to receive so many nice words from so many people.  It means so much!

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a stay at home mom, and now I'm getting a taste.  My house is always clean, the grocery shopping is done (yesterday at 8 am! - who knew the stores were so quiet and peaceful on a weekday morning?!), I'm cooking a bit (that's HUGE for our household, I NEVER cook) AND I'm getting my workouts in every day, and that feels really good.  I'm keeping a To Do list every day and marking things off as I finish them so the days don't get away from me.  I'm a bit of a list fanatic ;)

All of that in between putting feelers out there, polishing up my resume and working on some assignments for a magazine.

I've decided to still go to CHA next week.  Headed out on Saturday at the crack of dawn with my friend Sande.  Planning on walking the floor, networking and checking to see what opportunities may be out there.  And hey, I've never been on the other side of the show before, it will be interesting to see that other side!

Update on the marathon front - we had a little mishap over the weekend.  The treadmill decided to bite the dust. 

Check it out - have you ever seen anything like that?!  Guess I've really been hammering it the last few weeks, eh?  Well, it is about 10 years old, so maybe that has something to do with it.  Thank goodness for my handy husband. He took it apart, called the company and ordered a new belt that is scheduled to arrive any day.  MUCH cheaper than buying a brand new treadmill.  Looks like the progress on my 2nd marathon will be delayed a bit, but I've found other ways to workout until the new belt gets here. 

I've never been much of an exerciser.  Ok, who I am kidding?  I might as well say I've never been an exerciser.  At all.  Oh sure, it's at the top of my resolutions at the start of the year, but after a few days, it always just faded away into oblivion.  Not this year!  As of yesterday, I've worked out 19 of the 21 days in January.  And you know what, it feels good.  Really good.

Looking forward to doing a little scrapbooking when I get back from the show next week.  Even though it's been my 'job' for the last 3 years, I still really enjoy it and find it extremely therapeutic.

Thanks again friends, it's meant the world to me, more than you'll ever know!

When One Door Closes...

I've typed and retyped this post what seems like 1000 times. 

Friday was officially my last day with Scenic Route.

The economy has affected so many of us in so many different ways.  And now it's hit really close to home.  About as close to home as it can get.

For those of you Scenic Route lovers, and I know there are a lot of you out there, you may be wondering what's next for Scenic Route.  From what I understand, they're still planning on a new release - you should find images on the Scenic Route website in the next week or two.  Please know that Scenic Route is still a great company, one I strongly believe in.  They're just doing what's necessary as a business in these tough economic times.

For those of you that are passionate about this industry, as I am, keep good thoughts.  Good thoughts that this industry will pull through.

As I was receiving emails back from business contacts and friends on Friday and over the weekend after I sent out my announcement, one has stuck with me.  From someone I've never met.  Someone that I corresponded with a few times over the last few months.  He said, "When one door closes, the next door opens, and it generally opens wider than the one that closed".  He'll never know how much I appreciate that email and how much I'm holding onto that thought.

So now, I move forward.

What comes next, time will only tell.

I'll still be here.  On the blog.  Scrapping away and documenting life as I have for the last 11+ years.  It's still an important part of my life that I can't imagine going away, regardless of what happens. 

Here's to open doors.

A Bluebird Day

I've called it that since I started skiing in 4th grade.

The perfect day, really.

Beautiful, cloudless blue sky.

Warm temperatures.

No wind.

That was today.  A bluebird day.  What is likely to be the best ski day of the season.

We headed up this morning, on the slopes by 11.  The resort is a short 10 minutes up the canyon from our house. 

And a mere 10 minutes from our driveway, this is our backyard.

We met up with friends and spent the day.  Started with a sack lunch at the lodge followed by lots and  lots and LOTS of skiing.  So much so that by our last run, I didn't think my thighs were going to make it.  Now that's a good thing!

One of the coolest parts of the day?  A porcupine.  Precariously balanced atop a 40 foot tree.  Eating.  At the top.  Of.  The.  Tree.  
So very neat to see this.  A part of this little guy's every day existence.  And there we were.  Standing in the lift line, taking him in.

 Ended the day with dinner at a friends house with Nick and the kids and 2 other couples and their families. 

Good friends, good food, good conversations, good times.  One of the best days I've had in a loooong time.

It's Official

Yep.  It's official.

As of today, I am now the mom of a 'tween'.

Today is Jack's birthday.  He turned 11 today.  A 'tween' - between a child and a teenager.

I tell you what, some days I think he's definitely a teenager, right along with that attitude that comes with it!

Other days, I would swear he's still a little kid.

Oh, but I love him!

Happy Birthday Jackie!

He's standing in front of his decorated bedroom door.  A few years ago I started decorating the kids' bedroom doors like a giant birthday present the night before their birthday's after they are sound asleep.

They both get such a kick out of waking up in the morning of their birthday and checking out what's on their doors.  So much so that they talk about it for days before.

Fun tradition that they look forward to!

And a big Happy Birthday to my Mom.  Jack was born on her birthday.  It's a fun thing for them to share!

Now stop that!  No snickering at my plaid vested pantsuit.  That really was in style back then.

Whenever THAT was....

I Finished a Marathon

What?  You didn't know I was a runner, did you?  According to this stock photo, a runner in heels, no less.

Wow.  She's never talked about running.  Who knew?

Wow.  She certainly doesn't LOOK like a runner.  Who knew?

Nope.  Not me.  I'm not.  A runner.  Not even close. 

But as of tonight, I finished a marathon.  26.2 miles.  And it only took me 14 days to do it.  

Only.  Heh.

So technically, it's not a marathon.  But it's 26.2 miles.  And I did it.  Well, a bit more than 26.2, but who's counting?  Who am I kidding?  I'm counting.  Every stinkin' 10th of a mile that goes by.

So I'm taking it.  At the beginning of this year I turned over a new leaf. 

I'm NOT a runner.  Not by any means.  But I did it.  26.2 miles.

Tomorrow, on to the next marathon...  ;)

The Biggest & The Best

So, if you follow the scrapbook industry, with CHA (Craft and Hobby Association trade show) 2 weeks away, you're probably thinking this post is about our new releases, no? 

Nope.  Although I am pretty excited about what we're releasing at the show.  But, that will have to wait for another post.  Maybe the end of this week.  You might want to check back then because I might have a few sneaks to share.  And a few things to giveaway.  I'm just sayin'...

This post has to do with the moon.

Nope.  I haven't gone crazy, although things have been pretty hectic with CHA prep!

Last night's moon - did you see it?  Scientists say it was the biggest and best of 2009 - 14% bigger than any moon this year and 30% brighter.

So we decided to take advantage of that brightness of the moon last night and take the kids to go snow shoeing with some friends.

We had a blast!  It was a bit chilly (8 degrees F), but once we started going, we warmed right up.

The scenery was amazing - no lights other than from the moon.  It was pretty surreal.

At one point Jack said , "wow Mom, this gives you a whole new appreciation of nature". 

And boy did it.

Take 5:07 Minutes

Take the next 5:07 minutes and watch this video.  My friend Margie sent the link to me yesterday and I've been thinking about it ever since.

It's pretty powerful stuff.  Definitely worth 5:07 minutes out of your life.  OK, maybe 5:42 minutes - you'll need a bit of extra time to grab a kleenex and wipe your eyes.

Class Kits for Sale

OK, I have 3 different class kits left over from different classes I've taught this past year.  If you're interested in purchasing, shoot me an email at [email protected].  I have a limited number of kits, so if you're interested, email me quick!

Home Sweet Home mini book - $35 + shipping

This kit uses our 8x8 white grid chipboard book and products from our Sonoma and Sumner lines.  Color, step by step instructions included.  This project is designed to document your home.  Could be a current home or different pictures of homes you've lived in over the years.  Just think how it would be to have one of these from back in the 70's capturing the ever-so-popular avocado green carpet and appliances back then!  Fast forward to 20 years from now and think how fun it will be to see what your home looked like today.  Wonder what the avocado green carpet and appliances of 2008 will be?!  

Happy Birthday mini book - $35 + shipping

This kit uses our white grid panorama window chipboard book and products from our Surprise mini line.  Color, step by step instructions included.  This mini book captures the different birthday traditions we have in our family along with different photos of our birthdays over the years.  Would also work for an individual's birthday or years of birthdays.

Smooches layout - $20 + shipping

This kit uses products from our Sonoma line and makes 1 double page layout and 1 single page layout.  Color, step by step instructions included.  Over 200 alphabet stickers and plenty of chipboard letters included so you can recreate the layouts the way they were designed or create titles of your own.

December Daily - 31st

Do you ever feel so helplessly behind that it almost seems easier to give up on a project than to keep going?

That's me and my December Daily.  I made it through the 20th and then the holidays happened.  All of the festivities, the shopping, the activities, the relaxing.  Well, you know.  Life.

So today the guilt hit.  I've said it before.  If it's possible to feel guilty about even the smallest little thing, I'm there.  All over it.  Hence the guilt about being so far behind on my December Daily.

Put it off a bit longer this afternoon by dragging the boys out of the house for a little exercise.  They were on their bikes and I shuffled my feet to keep up.  We were gone for 35 minutes of much needed exercise.  Yah, so it happens to be the 1st of January and there might be a resolution in there somewhere.  I'm just sayin'.

Came home and figured it might be easier to start at the end of December and work backwards.  Because then, I'm not really behind, am I?  Yesterday was the 31st and if I do the 31st, I'm right on schedule.  At least for 1 day.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Late yesterday afternoon we headed up to Alta Ski Resort to meet some friends and participate in their annual Torchlight Parade.  This is the 3rd year we've done it.  In the past the mom's have stayed in the lodge with the younger kids, but this year we all skiied.  3 families.  6 adults.  6 kids.  12 of us total.  We rode the ski lift up in the dark.  Skiied down to a mid-mountain lodge in the PITCH DARK, received a flare and skiied down to the bottom of the resort.

We had a blast.  SO much fun.  Such a great thing to do as families, with the kids.  Definitely a tradition we'll keep.

Hard to get a good shot in the dark, skiiing, with a torch in one hand and a camera in the other, so here's a shot from Alta's website that gives you a little better idea of the Torchlight Parade.

After that we headed over to a friend's house for their annual New Year's Eve fondue party.  YUM.  Lots of good grazing.  The kids love cooking their own treats.  Sam really loved manning the raclette as a true grill meister, following along in Nick's grilling footsteps.

Unlike last year, we did manage to stay up until midnight and watch the ball drop.  We were home and asleep by 1 am, pooped.

Lots of assignments to whip out this weekend.  Oh yah, and the December Daily...

Just about have all of my class kits situated, I'll post images tomorrow!

Happy New Year to you!