A Graduate!

AH! I can't believe my oldest graduated from 6th grade Japanese school! The youngest went to school on time as usual from the bus stop (8:15am) but we had a late start going to school...it was the first time from the new house! OY! We got there around 12:40pm when he should have been there at 12:20pm! Ooops!

It was LONG~!!!!!!!!!!! So typical of Japanese events....everyone has to make a speech! LOL!! If you are ever invited to a wedding reception...DON'T GO!!! LOL!!!! My DH wanted to ditch the graduation party and have one of our own at home! Not a chance, mister! He lost! Heehee!! Besides some of the kids will not be continuing middle school (i.e. back to Japan, elementary schooling was just enough or some will continue in "cram school") and this will be the last time Takayuki will see them. Looks like he had a good time!

Here are some pics:

Takayuki coming into the gym with his classmates from 6B.

Aren't those flowers beautiful?! Have to find out who arrange them! Had to have it in the background....Takayuki looked amused. One of these days, he will take a decent picture! OY!

Proud dad and son in front of the school. The sign indicates "distribution of graduating diploma" (direct translation).

BTW....we did have our own little graduation party of homemade SUSHI (aka SUSHI Chef DH!)!! It was a great day!

Bad Blogger!!

LOL!! BUT I have an excuse! My family and I moved to Schaumburg IL!

Found a house we just loved, bought it that same day and less than 20 days, we're in! PHEW!
Had a few glitches like moving in snow/rain day, Best Buy mistakenly canceled our dryer order (how can they cancel part of an order....the washer and the frig is here at least! LOL!!!!), COMCAST was about to wipeout our email data (i.e. address book, files) and the boys can't start school right away until the school sees our purchase agreement so I'm driving them to Wheaton for at least a day (don't want them to miss too much school).

There's boxes all over the place so I've got to get back to them....gotta make dinner tonight! Just found the grocery store and bank...mostly importantly, Home Depot! LOL!!!

Will post pictures when I can and update on the results of CHA!
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

And the winner is...

Obsessed Scrapbooker!!! Please PM me your address and I'll get this off right away! Congratulations! When you get a chance, I would love to see your version of the wreath! Thanks for posting!!

Since I had such a great response...I have a second set I would like to give out and that goes to Jan! LOL!! I know your address!

THANK YOU to everyone who participated and for those who posted on 2Peas (and other message boards) such kind words of encouragement....you will never know HOW MUCH it means to me! So thank you from the bottom of my heart xoxoxo!

And YES, I did meet my deadline..skin of my teeth as I started the last two projects after dinner last night! YIKES!

Here are some of my samples for the booth - if you're going, please stop by and meet these nice folks from LaserLine (booth #1705). I won't be able to make it but I will be there in spirit!!!

The "Happy Holiday" circle chipboard & zig-zag border are my designs and the swirl is a LaserLine design as well! PP-Reminisce, CS-Bazzill, Flowers-Junkitz, Brads-Making Memories and paints/stickles-Ranger Ink.

This is my all-time favorite (for now - LOL!!!) - a chipboard flip flop mini album! Had such a blast making this for the booth! The exclamation point, clip and the arrows are all my designs. There are a TON of different lines in this one so I hope I get all of them in...Flair, Heidi Swapp, American Tradition, Art Warehouse, Ranger Ink and 7 Gypsies.

Can I say thank you to Robin Beam for letting me "play" with the dabbers to use on all of my samples?! I got rid of all my paints and only use the dabbers - just LOVE THEM!!!

Now I have to go and clean up the mess that I had made for the last few days - sigh....

CHA - Winter 2007!!!

OK...breathe!

I've got a few things done for Laser Line's booth (#1705)! BUT I need to get at least 2 more projects started and they have to go out by this Wednesday!!! AHH!!

To add to the mix, we're in the process of negotiating the sale of our house! In the middle of winter in Chicago, we sold our house (well, not officially yet) and they want us out by the end of February! Didn't think we would sell our house...let alone above asking price in the off-peak season! LOL!! Who said it was a soft seller's market?! OY!

OK...enough of the vent!

I put together a Valentines wreath which I saw on either 2Peas or CK gallery and LOVED it! So I scraplifted....I used Laser Line's Plain Jane - Circles (3 lg & 3 md) and Plain Jane - Valentines sets; Cloud 9 Valentines PP; Ranger Ink Dabbers & Stickles; and Bo Bunny PP & Ribbons. I just noticed that "love" is in there....ooops! I was going to add "Be Mine" but lost the "Mine" (no, not MIND....well, that went a LONG time ago!!) so I had to adjust my plan!

OK so who wants to be RAK'd?! LOL!! I will send one set of Laser Line's Plain Jane chipboards to make this wreath. Please leave comments on what shapes you like to see in chipboard (existing or not). I will have one of my boys pick a name and announce the winner on Wednesday, Jan. 24 evening in honor of my deadline! Heehee!!!

Oh, these aren't my designs....these are existing ones that Laser Line did. I will post mine SOON!! So in the meantime, post away!

Happy Birthday to my 10 year old!!!

Sniff-Sniff! Guess he can't stay a little boy forever but I can dream, can't I? LOL!!

Happy birthday to my youngest guy!


We decided to do something different and he wanted an ice cream cake sooooooo... I went to Frozen Memories (where I work part-time)'s ice cream palor side and purchase a dozen ice cream cupcakes! Then I stacked them and put a candle on top.....a birthday cake! Everyone got to choose which flavor they wanted and I didn't have to cut anything! Now I call that a solution!

What a treat for him...a TV baseball game w/ bat remote, a Barns & Noble gift certificate from his cousins, some $$$ from the grandparents and lots of hugs & kisses from ME! Heehee!














































Happy birthday, Mr. Hiroyuki!

xoxoxo

Good-bye to Cherish!

Well, it was nice while it lasted! The store is a BEAUTIFUL store and had TONS of stuff that I LOVE!

But mangement decided to change the way they have people working hours and my schedule couldn't meet it so I had to say good-bye! We parted on good terms which is always a good thing AND I wish them so much luck and success! I'll be back...I have my eyes on some thing that I forgot to purchase today - LOL!! Plus I'm hoping to do some make'n takes with my chipboard accents that will be debuting @ CHA - Winter. So excited that Laser Line has allowed me to doodle and make them a reality! THANK YOU!! LOVE that company esp. Miss Lisa Ragan and her mom, Marcia! I'm in the process of making some samples out of their existing product line (Plain Janes) as well as my designs! COOL!!

I want to thank my GF, BethP, for introducing me to Cherish!! Although it was only for a few months, I got to spend some time with my friend and that was so important to me! Hope we can get to see each other outside of Cherish too!

As I mentioned I have some stuff debuting as well as my friends from NJScrappers! Jen Starr of Ranger Inks (DT coordinator) will be debuting papers & stuff from Zsiage and another GF but she hasn't announced so I'm not going public until she does! LOL!! Then my friend from Imagination Project, Emily Adams, formerly of Magic Scraps will be debuting her line of products as well! So good luck to everyone...it's going to be a FULL plate of everything this show! YIKES!


Here are some pictures I'd like to share the fun times @ Cherish!













But most importantly, I want to thank the scrappers that came in and took my classes or to say hello at the store or for letting me help them find that right kind of paper/embellishments/adhesive! Please continue to support our LSSes (is that correct?) and have fun doing what we love to do - SCRAPBOOK! See you in some shape or form! LOL!!

Thanks, Cherish...I'll be back!


P.S. You haven't seen the last of me! LOL! I will continue to work at Frozen Memories on Wednesdays, some Fridays or Saturdays during the daytime hours! Come visit me...love to see my friends!

Pieces Of Me...

Hey, all! Hope everyone survived the celebration! We had to work like all other new years, our church is open for the first prayers of the year. BUT the best part is hanging out with the members and sharing a meal of traditional Japanese new years dishes (as you saw in my previous post & MORE! LOL!). Will post those pictures later!

I wanted to show you all a project that I finally got done....I think it took me a good two months to get it completed!!! It's that dreaded scrapper's block! UGH!!! And I loved how it turned out! I plan to do a class on this at the end of this month @ Cherish. I used Creative Imagination's puzzle pieces to make an altered mini album and the theme is based on the many roles we as mothers, wives, sisters, brothers, kids to get through life. Mine covers places I need to be...home, work, school, sorority and play (of course, that's my fav page! LOL!!). So if you're interested, would love for you to join us @ Cherish!!

The January dates are: 27th (Sat./10am-NOON); 30th (Tue./10am-NOON). There's one February date: 3rd (Sat./10am-NOON).

Currently I'm working on an envie accordion album for Valentines @ Frozen Memories. I don't think their calendar is up yet for January but this class will be this Saturday, Jan 6th from 10am - NOON. I hope to post a picture tonight so be on the lookout for it! I believe the price is $12.00.

Thanks for always stopping by and reading my blog!

Happy New Year!!!

AH! Can't believe it's 2007! Wishing everyone a great year!

Here's a peek at the foods we enjoy during the new year's holiday - called OSECHI RYORI.

This is called KURIKINTON....basically it's mashed chestnuts (something like mashed potatoes but sweeter and yummier..is that a word?!). This is one of my favorite dishes!

This a kind of fish cake and since it's mostly white, they dye it in different colors and they make designs in the middle of the cake. When you go to slice the "loaf," you get these slices pictured here.

These are eggs rolled in layers and sliced. Hosho made these....isn't this beautiful!

We also cooked up a New York strip steak and little hamburger patties...and a few other dishes.

In Japan after days of cleaning our homes (detail cleaning), we spend time on preparing foods that can last at least a few days since in the "olden" days, all the shops were closed for about a week. But that's not fesible and they only close for a couple of days. In recent times, people spend their time on vacation mostly overseas so these kinds of food are not so popular. Actually those who still enjoy it will most likely order it as a set from department stores. Here we are able to order at Mitsuwa (Arlington Hts. IL) but I don't like to do that so we make some of the dishes and purchase pre-made stuff. This makes us feel less guilty - LOL!! But we also work on new year's day....New Years services at church. The church members make some AWESOME homemade dishes that we will enjoy tomorrow afternoon for lunch! Can't wait!

So, do you do anything for the new year as a tradition? Do share!

Again, a happy new year to you and your loved ones!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas celebration with loved ones and good friends!

We are so thankful to have family members from Tokyo to help make a special holiday for my boys! It's been over 10 years since we spent the holidays with siblings (my side of the family)! WOW! Times flies! The cousins were so excited to spend Christmas Eve together eating turkey and opening presents!

Although they left 6am Christmas morning and seemed too short, it was worth every moment with them! We can't wait to see them again in July! Thank you, Dan & Yuki, for making such a wonderful Christmas for the boys and us! Hugs and kisses to you all!!!

A busy December 9th!

LOL!! Pretty crazy...had a class from 10am to NOON @ Cherish (my "Joy of Christmas Past"), a birthday party/girl scout gathering from 3pm to 4:30pm @ Frozen Memories (a purse mini album) and then the Rusty Pickle class to take from 6pm to 10pm. PHEW!

The girl scout gathering took a total turnaround...they wanted to start at 3:30pm and they wanted to change the entire theme! YIKES! I just spent 3 to 4 hours, handcutting everything. But it worked out to the customer's wishes...she got the time & a different theme and that's a good thing (bottom line: make the customer happy, right!) - I couldn't teach it but FM found someone to do the class for them. I felt bad but the schedule was SO tight that day....it seems like everyone schedule EVERYTHING that day! LOL!!

Here are some pictures from my morning "Joy" class - what wonderful scrappers I had in the class! Great fun!

Here are some fun Rusty Pickle class pics...

The gentleman in the jean jacket is Mr. Anderson, Lance's father, telling us some great stories! Lance was kind enough to pose with me before heading out....I think we were there past 11:00pm?! Thanks, Lance! Great to see you again and hope you'll be teach @ Cherish often! Hugs to you!

Mr. Pickle is coming to town....

LOL! Couldn't resist! Lance Anderson (aka Mr. Pickle) is one of my favorite instructors! AND he's coming to Cherish Scrapbooking in Naperville this Saturday night...how exciting is that!

I had a very nice chat with Lynne Mau, a member of Rusty Pickle's DT, a few weeks ago. She came to the store - her first visit (hopefully not her last!) and mentioned that he's planning to do a class in Joliet. So I asked her to see if he would be interested in doing one here! Well, thanks to her and Tara Anderson (Lance's wife) - it's a DONE DEAL!

This time I will be the student....he's teaching a class that was only taught overseas (CKU-Japan and in Europe) and went over very well. I only heard comments from Japan and was hoping we could do it here! Well, be careful what you wish for, right! LOL!!!

Here's the poster I did for the class....love the papers!

Also just heard this morning from Cherish that my class has increased in student body...double! YIKES! Better make up some more kits! Can't wait to do this class with everyone! How fun to play....this also with a Rusty Pickle product (round chipboard album)!! It's going to be a "Pickle of A Day!" Sorry, it just came out! HA!

Tonight is my youngest DS's holiday concert so I better get some food on the table and make him look festive! LOL!! Hope to post some pictures...stay tuned!

Gobble Gobble!!

Happy "early" Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for good health that enables me to have a good family life that is full of love that was led to the example of my parents' love to having friends who tolerate me - PHEW!

Would also like to add that I am very blessed in having two LSS support my creativity and addiction to this wonderful thing called scrapbooking! Thank you to Frozen Memories and to Cherish Scrapbooking for having the confidence in me to share and expand "the passion" to others!

This year for Thanksgiving is the first in many years that we will not be hosting a huge group of people. It will be an intimate party of just US! I am looking forward to it...been a little busier than usual. Matter of fact, I just finished a Christmas class project this afternoon for Frozen Memories...I hope that some of you will join us. Please look below for pics of the sample (ribbon is missing on the tags...had to get them from the store).

This the back of the Bazzill accordian album (the words "HOLIDAY") with Quickutz die cuts to accent and the top is the accordian holder decorated with a paper weave technique with the words "JOY" in chipboard letters.

And the pictures above are what we'll be doing for the mini album. I used DaisyD's Christmas line from last year but I just love how it turned out. Not sure what we'll be using for the class but Becky is trying to get these papers in as it is still popular. Currently FM will be offering this class on Saturday, Dec. 2nd from 10am to NOON. Still trying to find an evening that we can offer this class as well. Will keep you all posted!

......Well, it's now Thanksgiving evening....an update! The dinner went well without pressure and at my own pace. Had dinner and cleaned up the kitchen before 7pm! A first! LOL!!! It was nice to have the family sit down at the same time and at the same table. Had a nice conversation with the boys and a lot of laughs too! Always a good time! Here's a picture we try to do with the timer on my NIKON...

So what is your favorite part of a Turkey dinner? Mine was sitting down and eating it! LOL!! Actually, it's the laughter...kids say the darnest things! LOL!! Hope you and your family have/had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy 14th Wedding Anniversary!

Can you believe I remember to vote but totally forgot about my wedding anniversary?! LOL!!! My DH saw a bottle of red wine the day before thinking....oh, boy....should I get a card or flowers - no, let's go out for dinner! So he calls me from work and said where should we go? My answer "what are you talking about?" OY! He couldn't take back his question so off we go for dinner...with boys in tow! Heehee!!! We went over to ABASHIRI Restaurant in Bloomingdale on Lake Street. If you're into Japanese food - GO! The cook is Japanese and has been so YUMMY (unlike the first few weeks of opening). I think we go there about once every other week! We NEVER go out to eat!

So the next day (the 8th), Hosho and I spent some time hiking in the forest preserves by Silver Lakes in the Wheaton/Warrenville area....it was the day that the temps were around the high 60s. I have never been in this part of the reserves (it's off of Mack Rd., west of Winfield Rd.). Here are some pics I took along the way:

















































It was a great and relaxing day...peaceful until 3:30pm (when the boys come rushing in)!! LOL!!
So happy anniversary, Hosho - xoxoxo! Doesn't seem like 14 years - wow, time flies!

Harvest Crop 2006

....well, just got back from the crop! After working a full 12 hours, I still feel like scrapping! Frozen Memories had their first major event and I think it was a success! All paid scrappers were accounted for except for one special person...she had to work today at the last minute. But I hope to see her soon...sorry you missed it - there will be other crops!

Julie did a WONDERFUL job organizing this crop and I believe everyone had a good time! Thanks to all who attended and those who helped to make this event a success! Hope that many more folks will join us for the next one! Just to give you an idea of what a good time is, here's some pictures!















Scrappers hard at work!














The lunchtime crowd!














MargieH with Quickutz Guru, JulieB!















Our dessert, ice cream cake! YUMMY!!!

I do have to say that Tony did a GREAT job on the turkey dinner....I went back twice with heaping helpings of EVERYTHING! Thanks, Tony!

OK....off to bed! Have a great weekend!

Happy Halloween!

I'm sure you're getting sick of looking at my "lovely" basement so I thought I'd post...sorry for the delay - lots of things happening with us.

First big news is that we're selling our house. NO!!!! Not because of the flood but we thought it would be best to look to the future. We have a couple of options that we're looking at: 1. invest in a townhome property near or in the Japanese community here in Chicago (we would live there for a few years and then we rent it out to a Japanese family for rental income); and 2. really buckle down and do some serious work at the church by renovating the minister's resident and live there. Still mix feelings about it but we need to think about our future (i.e. where we need to eventually retire = Japan? and financially be even stronger). Don't get me wrong, we are living comfortable but I'd rather we stash away $$ for our "mature" years - LOL!!!

We'll see, it's a VERY soft market and I don't expect us to move anytime soon. BUT we did get a nibble...the buyer is crunching numbers as we speak! Not even on the market for a full week and we get an "interested" party! YIKES! Even my wonderful realtor was surprised! LOL!!

SOOOoooooo.....HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! I'm going to the youngest's elementary school for the Halloween parade and party. Looking forward to it since my middle schooler doesn't have that kind of event anymore...sniff, sniff! Guess I better get the outdoor decorations out! LOL!!

Another happening...I started classes at Cherish Scrapbooking in South Naperville! So excited! Did a basic scrapbooking class (SB101) with two students last Sunday afternoon. Very relaxing, intimate and FUN! We did all sorts of technique and they went home happy to do their first layout and I was there to help! LOVE IT!!! Here's the layout we're doing in my SB101 class...




















My next class at Cherish will be Nov. 10 (Fri, 10am to NOON) and Nov. 18 (Sat, 10am to NOON) that I think would be TONS of fun! We'll be using a round chipboard album from Rusty Pickle, lots of ribbons from American Crafts, trying out the new Ranger Ink's dabbers that everyone has been raving about, patterned papers from DaisyD's latest Christmas release and again, doing some cool techniques to put an awesome album together! Are you up for the challenge?! LOL! If you're interested, call and have some fun!! Here's a pic of the completed album called "Joy of Christmas Past..."





















Now another favorite LSS is Frozen Memories! Did you hear about their 14-hour crop this Saturday (Nov 4, 10am to MIDNIGHT)?! It's sounds like a wonderful day...wanna come? You'll need to sign up REAL QUICK...I think they may have 1 or 2 spots open! So if you're free, call and come join us!!! You get lunch, snacks/drinks and a TURKEY dinner all for only $25!!!! I sound like a commercial but how can you bet this price! LMBO!! I'd pay but I'm working at the crop - LOL!!! So who's coming?!

Also needed to get some fall pictures since the Chicago area is going through some funky weather...most of October has been below normal temps and the leaves were disappearing! AH~! I had to bribe the guys into Frozen Memories' homemade ice cream for them to cooperate - UGH! So here are pics of Chicago's fall!














AH~brotherhood! LOL!!!





















OK...so this is what I get for the milk shake later! LOL!! Here's hoping that they will continue to let me take their pictures (minus the bribes! LOL)!!

Have a wonderful halloween and hope that everyone makes their rounds safely!!!

A flooded basement....

Well, our worst fear has happened...the basement flooded and it wasn't pretty. LOL!!
See...


















We had a HUGE storm come through the Chicago area (biggest one since 1996) and the power went out...the rain kept pouring...and no sump pump moving...and no backup battery pump!!! OY! First time "flood victims" and we're not liking it! LOL!!

We had about 1-2 feet of water. I woke up and started cleaning from 5:30am. Got the boys dressed, fed and out to school in between. Went to the store and bought a mop and about 50 garbage bags...thank goodness it was garbage day - our only bright light that day! He took about 15 extra bags out for us - love Waste Mgm't! LOL!! I think I bagged a total about 30-35 bags of wet stuff!

Thank goodness for GOOD neighbors! I will not reveal my life saver's name because I KNOW he will get phone calls!!! LMBO! He came to our rescue when we found out that you couldn't simply dry the water heaters and light the pilot light! What were we thinking? LOL!! They were only 2 years old - yes, they! We have two water heaters because we have a big house and a HUGE bathtub that we use everyday. Being Japanese, bath is a major part of our routine :0) Well after two hours, both my DH and our handy friend were able to salvage both heaters and the furnace! PHEW!!!!!!!!!!! Saved us THOUSANDS of $$$$$$$$! Thanks again Mr. R!!!! We definitely owe you (and the Mrs.) a wonderful SUSHI dinner!!!

Yesterday, we lucked out...had a wonderful company come out at 7AM to take out everything in the basement and haul it out of here!! If you're in the Chicago area and you need stuff hauled out, call Metropolitan Clean-Out & Haul-Away Services (in Elmhurst but they go all over/630-359-4285). The guys were great, efficient and reasonable!!!

So after the guys left, I went to mop the floors but couldn't finish in an afternoon so back down I go today! Wish me luck! LOL!! Oh and after this is done, my shopping trip will include a trip to Home Depot and a purchase of a new backup pump! Ya think?! LOL!!!!

October!!

Well...another month has just flown by! Things are looking up for us...a new job and new challenges!

On a personal note, I want to thank those who have been praying for us that we FINALLY hear word from my DH's new company...we've been waiting for several months (talk about pins & needles). But I'm lucky to have a DH who always have a backup plan and a steady mental will! LOL!!

My challenge was to submit to yet another design team (DT) call and didn't do so well! Oh, well! Life goes on, right?! LOL!! But the positive thing about these calls is I do get pages done! So I thought I'd share some of my submissions to you all...what do you think?













This was an altered CD of my son's first day of middle school...I followed him to the bus stop (to his great dismay - LMBO!!!) and took these pics. This is before I put pages on the CD and then strung them on Stemma ribbon.


















Stemma had these great word PP and I used "Family" for our family vacation page. This particular one is of Mt. Rushmore. The journaling tag is tucked behind the picture of the "boys" which I inked the edges and doodled on the corner. The photo corners were painted with Ranger Ink's new paint dabbers....now that is a MUST HAVE item!!!!!!!!! LOVE their stuff but this one is definitely a best seller!!!















These pictures are of the cousins hanging out at Cantigny Park (Wheaton, IL) during the 4th of July picnic. LOVE this place....so peaceful! I cut parts of another Stemma paper and used it on the pretty blue Stemma PP. Popped a couple of the flowers out with foam dots...never thought to have flower accents to the boys' layout! Heehee!!!

I have classes going on at Frozen Memories (FM) this month! One of them is this Saturday AM (kids are also welcome!) and it's a Halloween theme! We're going to be decorating a bronze color pail so that you can fill it up with goodies! It's very cute! I hope the store uploads the picture sometime in the next couple of days! I plea senior moment! I forgot to take a picture....maybe when I go today, I'll bring my camera! So here's my schedule:

Saturday, Oct 7
10:30am to NOON
Halloween Pail Class
$25 w/ apple cider

Sunday, Oct 22
2:00pm to 6:00pm
"SUNDAE" crop
$12 w/ ice cream float

Saturday, Oct 28
10:30am to NOON
Altered Canvas Panel Easel
$25

So give the nice people at Frozen Memories a call (630-830-7492) and reserve your spot! Would LOVE it if you can join us!

OH!! FM will be having their first BIG crop...they're renting out the space next door (it hasn't been leased out yet) and it's called the Harvest Crop! You have to come....it' s only $25!!! If I wasn't working, I would pay!!! LOL!!! It will be a 14 hour crop with food & drinks, prizes, challenges, etc. and dinner is a TURKEY dinner! YUMMMmmmm!!! So mark your calendar and come on over! I saw some of the prizes on Saturday....let me say, it's VERY nice! Heehee!! No more hints!

Well, it's going to be in the 80s here in Chicago so I'm making the best of it! So make the best out of your day too!! Have a good one!!