A 4th Grader...

That's what my youngest is going to be this year! I think a lot of mothers reflect on their children's first time going to either kindergarten or first grade during this time of year. I was talking to Hiroyuki (my youngest) about how it feels to be in elementary school WITHOUT his big brother and he said "sad." I did feel for him but told him, it's his chance to shine without his big brother's shadow. So we'll see how he'll shine this year! LOL!!

Both boys started school (well, half day) yesterday and both felt GOOD about their school year...they should! It's only half day yesterday! LOL!!! Of course, mom was with camera in tow but both were too tired to argue! Heehee!!














OK...I'm up physically but don't ask me questions that will make me think! Taka walking out our front walk.
















OK...mom, hurry up and take the picture! Oops....the bus is a little farther than I thought! LOL! See the headlights....that's Bus #3! Heehee!!
















WAH! There goes my MIDDLE SCHOOLer! He had a wonderful day yesterday...keep it up!

I went to school with my youngest....now that kid is hard to take a picture of! GRRrrrr!!! This is the only decent one!














And this one of his new 4th grade teacher! I heard she's strict and I like it that way! LOL!!















AH! Another school year is starting! I'm hoping for a good one!

So....who's starting school too?

AH....middle school!

That was my feeling when realizing that my oldest was going to register today...last night, this nervous mother was NOT getting any sleep! LOL!!

BUT it was fine....well, except that he taken 20 mins to get his combination locker open! GRRrrrr...I bought a combination lock to practice on a couple of weeks earlier. He had gotten that opened after the 8th try so I ASSUMED that he won't have any problems with the real deal! HA! I was wrong! Got most of his stuff in the locker (VERY narrow!)...need a couple more things now that he knows which "team" he'll be on. Going to classes by himself?! NO PROBLEM! Me?! OMGosh!!! I got lost...had to follow him to all his classes! He gets it...me? Well, let say I'm glad I don't attend school anymore! LOL!!






















Let's say that I'm SO glad that his school picture will be better than this one! UGH! A boy that was TOTALLY embarrassed that his parent had brought a camera to school! Heehee!

Now to wait until next Tuesday (1/2 day) for school to start! I get my life back but I'm going to miss these little guys hanging around me all day!

"Back To Basics"

That's what I call my beginners class at Frozen Memories (my LSS in Bartlett, IL)...I always point out that a good layout is balance (color & placement), some pictures - not all need to be placed on pages and journaling (short or long). So I had my first beginners class at the store last week and there was a "mature" couple that decided to give scrapbooking a try! I really enjoy watching them give each other encouragement and advice...it really made me excited to know I was helping them to preserve some of their memories together! Thank you, Sharyn & Bill, for being so inspiring - to really enjoy the craft of scrapbooking! What was also neat is the fact that everyone had a different "take" on my sample and made it their own. Here's what I had displayed at the store....
















Another one will be scheduled for Tues, Aug 15th from 6:30pm and the theme will be either pets or kid's art work! Here's what I have on the pet theme (still working on the kid's artwork page)...
















It's been a full week of busy and school hasn't even started yet! LOL! Kids have archery class, I had an SB class, DH had to put final touches on a business plan, a sudden death and funeral to arrange and a dozen wedding tri-folders to get done before Saturday noon (had to go to the post office to priority mail before close of day). I finally got an idea that would fit the customer's needs and made a final mockup by Wednesday so I only had 3 days to complete! YIKES! Each took about 30-45 minutes to make as everything was made out of scratch and handcut. One folder would need about 3.5 sheets of paper and 1.5 sheet of chipboard (all 12x12 size!). I used up one bottle of 3M/Scotch liquid glue, 4 spools of ribbon and made good use out of my newest tool, the Score-It board. So glad I took the plunge and purchased this (w/ A's 25% coupon!)...made my life easier doing this project! Here's what they look like - I hope the client likes it!

CHA Summer Bash challenge!

OK...Miss Wendy has given the participants a challenge from our goodie bags (or if you want to join in). The challenge is to use GinX and Pressed Petal items. So here's my take on what I had in the 2Peas event goodie bag. I had these pictures FOREVER and wanted to scrap my stuff...Triple Trouble for my three "boys!"















"Triple Trouble" - what can I say?! LOL! Every time these guys are together, they're up to something! My DH had no idea I took this picture of them doing snow angels from our balcony. Just love seeing them together and HAPPY!

PP - GinX & CS - Bazzill
CB Letters - Pressed Petal & RubOns - Junkitz
Ribbon, Snow Eyelet & Brad - Making Memories
Snow Sticker - Target & Pen - ZIG Photo Signature & Adhesive - Pioneer
















This picture is when I opened up the accordian card full of pictures and comments....LOL!!

Thanks again GinX and Pressed Petal for kindly donating such fun stuff in our goodie bags!!!! Thanks for looking!!

Frozen Memories!!

In between the posts on CHA and my great summer vacation @ Yellowstone, etc., Frozen Memories (an LSS/local scrapbook store) asked me to be one of their instructors! How stinkin' excited am I?! LOL!! It's a great store...if you all are in the area of Bartlett, IL - GO! Can't beat an ice cream parlor in a scrapbook store! The owners are wonderful and warm couple! The hubby does his magic with homemade ice cream and the wife has this passion for scrapbooking! What a combo...I'm in heaven! LOL!!

I started with a kids' class using Flair's class kit (Paradise mini tag album) - too cute! The class sold out and had to make an extra kit-to-go! LOL! Was a little nervous about not having enough attendees but Becky (the owner) did a wonderful job selling the class!




















Oh! Do I look like I know what I'm doing?! LOL!
LOVE my CROP-A-DILE!! Had to cut through 20 pieces of chipboard! OY!

For my local scrappers who have kids, come join me in this month!! Also, there are classes for adults too...heehee! Here's the schedule:

August 5 (Sat) 5-8pm
Kids' Crop $10 with sm. soft serve
Bring pics, supplies and basic tools (paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, black marker & pencil) to catch up on your scrapbooking or get individual advice on a layout, card or project. Surprise make'n take in store for the night!

August 9 (Wed) 6:30-8:30pm
"Back To Basics" $12
Bring or purchase basic tools kit (please refer to the above). Get to know your tools...are you using them correctly? Bring 8-10 pictures and let's do a vacation themed page!

August 12 (Sat) 11-NOON
Kids' Class $10 with sm. soft serve
"Back To School" name plate

August 13 (Sun) 2-6pm
"Sundae" Crop $12 with ice cream float

August 15 (Tue) 6:30-8:30pm
"Back To Basics" $12
Bring or purchase basic tools kit. Get to know your tools...are you using them correctly? Bring 8-10 pictures and let's do a kid or pet themed page!

August 26 (Sat) 11-12:30pm
Kids' Class $12 with sm. soft serve
"Back To School" page

August 30 (Wed) 11:30-1:00pm
Kit of the Month $18
Baby Theme

Every Friday night from 6-10pm is CROP NIGHT!
$15 per table so gather up your friends! The price also includes a small cappuccino creation or a small ice cream cone (your choice)!

The "Sundae" crop sounds real YUMMY! Who wants to join me?! I need to get some stuff done too...I'm always needing to get stuff done! LOL!!

CHA - Part 4

Finally got a chance to get on this computer...my mind goes if I don't write it down immediately! LOL!














OK...The show was amazing! This year was a little different as in the new exhibitors zone was not there! I always like to check out the new/up&coming companies and learn a few things...they were mixed in with the rest of the gang and they had little sign in their booth that says "new exhibitor." UGH!

Well, it seems to me the homecoming queen of the show was a new company called Imaginisce (imagine + reminisce = imaginisce). They're based out of UT, done a lot of research on trends and came out with some great stuff IMHO! They had an array of stuff that I want....papers, embellies, rub-ons, charms.....http://www.imaginisce.com/






















Here's my friend, TracyF, who was lucky enough to work there but she worked HARD...there were so many people wanting to buy these product lines! YIKES!














Granted we were there for all 3 days and on Sunday, towards the end of the show, we finally got a hold of her when she wasn't busy to take a group shot! OY! My GF, FionaR, TracyF & me...love the background - Shut Uuuuuuuuup! LOL!!














I also went to visit one of my favorite lines...Rusty Pickle! The owner was out and about - LanceA and what a sweetie! Took a pic of some of their creations...great job!




















Also went by another fav, GinX, and here's the designer herself (GingerR)! Those ladies are so talented and SO funny! Hey, ladies! Thanks for a FUN chat!!
















Have you ever seen TammyT's work?! Oh, my! You all are missing out! She's on design teams (DTs) for several paper manufacturers. I believe she taught or will be teaching on the Big Picture online classes (Stacy Julian's big project). Thanks, Tammy!!




























Recess by Carson-Dellosa! Thank you for being one of our sponsors for National Scrapbooking Assoc. (NSA)!!! Hi, Heather! Those frames look AWESOME btw!!



Thanks to Robin Beam of Ranger Inks for using LaserLine's Plain Jane product to use as a sample of those AWESOME acrylic paint dabbers! It was so nice to meet you!! Good luck on your surgery!!
















Grabbing her on the way back to Ranger's booth is NJScrappers' Jen Starr...last time I saw her was at my farewell crop in NJ back in June 2004! It was good to see you, Jen, although VERY short! Maybe next time, huh! Congrats on being the DT coordinator for Ranger!














Here's Fiona doing her own kind of distressing on LaserLine's products! LOL!!















And here's the craft diva herself....Miss Carol Duvall! She made me get into crafts! LOL!! I have been watching since her time on the morning TV show "HOME Show" and then her show on HGTV. I remember Tim Holtz being on her show during the holidays and he was showing how to put ink into those glass ornaments! LOL!!















So those are some of my highlights of the weekend. I'm sure you'll see some layouts from all the goodies I had received from the 2Peas event, a treasure hunt that (mostly) Fiona and I went on, some designers were kind to let me take a stash to play with and some who did not want to pack up. THANK YOU to those who were kind enough to take time to say hello and chat awhile! xoxo

CHA-Part 3 (cont'd)

For some strange reason, the blog will not let me post any more pictures?! So I want to make sure I have these pictures posted because I want to make a point! LOL!!















A BIG THANK YOU to Miss WendyM...our hostess with the mostess (is that a word?)!!! Smooches to you, sweetie, for a WONDERFUL bash and to the "bag" ladies & the rest of the PUBsters for helping out behind the scenes!!














This is my girlfirend, Fiona, who had the BEST time and won a door prize @ the BASH! Thanks to the ladies who were gracious in making Fiona feel welcomed to her first 2Peas event!















"Kim in IA" has been so nice via emails and from my friend, Beth, was telling about her! I was THRILLED to meet her in person! What a doll! Spellbinders were kind enough to donate one of their GREAT machines (the Wizard) for the door prize pool! LOVE this machine (thank you, Beth, for bringing me to the PURPLE SIDE!!!)!

OK....next post will be on CHA!

CHA - Part 3

2Peas event....this is what I have been looking forward to the most! Last year @ CHA-Summer (in Chicago), I attended this event (they have a gathering at most SB-related event) and I had no idea of what it was all about or who anyone was! LOL! Ever since that event, I have been a part of "The Pub" and loved all the ideas, help and just all around FUN they were having!

SO this year was extra special to meet some FAB talent in the great group! WendyM was crazy enough to host and MAN! she did a FINE job! Had the best time! It was wonderful just to set up with her, ChristineT, Kelly, StephanieH, Torm, Kathleen Summers, AllisonMud, Steph, JanetO and I know I have forgotten names (please FORGIVE me!!). Proof is in the pudding...here are the pics of us prepping so those ladies I didn't know names, here you are!!














This is only part of the 200 bags....some are on tables and the other side of the doors! YIKES, Wendy, how did you fit these in the van?! Uh, maybe I shouldn't know! LOL!!














Miss Kelly working away on the sponsor poster!














Kathleen Summers & StephanieH putting last minute donations into all 200 bags!














OK....who had the As or was it the Ls? Some of the ladies assembling the name tags alpha order
Steph looking at me (beautiful eyes!!), Tania? in the jean jacket, Miss JanetO in the pretty pink top and I'm not sure who is standing next to her but she's REAL nice too!

Let the party begin...well, it did but I couldn't get there until an hour later!!!! UGH! The hotel restaurant was taking forever to give us individual checks (as I requested before the waiter took the order!).














Veronica Hugger (NSA) talking with one of NSAers from the Chicago area (ReneeN). Veronica will be interviewed by WGN Radio about digiSB. How cool is that! The radio host (sorry forgot his name) is the author of the book she is holding.

Had people calling me asking if I was ever going to show up! LOL!! Well, I did! Here's some pics of friends who I have been dieing to meet face-to-face!!!!














A lady that I had long admired for a long....Leah Fung! Finally after many emails back'n forth, we meet! She is such a LOVELY person! Congrats on the BHG sponsorship!!














This is my good friend, Allison "Mud" - just LOVE her! We'll get together SOON!!














My CKU-A friend, Becca!!!! Great gal...SOoooo sweet! Too bad we don't live close to each other but thank goodness for email! LOL!!














My sorority sister, BethPing, with her eyes closed (sorry, Beth! It's the only pic with Kim in it!). The pretty lady on the left is Kar and the other pretty lady on the right is Kim In IA. I'm surrounded by talented people!!!! They are part of the Spellbinder Wizard DT and such generous people....I am lucky to know them!!!

What a night....thought I would stay for an hour but we closed the place down! LOL!!!

CHA - Part 2

First of all, I have to THANK my two manufacturers for letting me include my layouts in their wonderful booths - TwelveBy12 and LaserLine!! Both companies were very generous and such warm people to work with!

TwelveBy12 booth...




















The layout that I did was "Afternoon" (top middle page) - just LOVE Jennifer O'Meara's work! It was so nice meeting you in person, Bill (Jennifer's DH)! Congrats on the HUGE article in Scrapbooking & Beyond August issue! VERY COOL!


LaserLine booth...
























Finally had a chance to use FLOWERS on my boys' page! LOL!! I used LaserLine's Plain Jane laser cut chipboard diecuts (now that's a mouthful!)! I painted and then "Stickled" (Ranger's) them with fun colors! So much better to use than other glitter type products (IMHO!)...I'm buying MORE! LOL!!

Lisa Ragan, GREAT to meet you!!!! Thanks so much for sending the Janes! I'm working on my altered CD so I haven't forgotten! Just trying to get the August classes and class samples out of the way (I'm so lucky! I have 6 scheduled for the month - YIKES!!!). Should be able to finish by the end of the weekend. So thanks for being patient!




















These nice folks are from LaserLine (http://laserlinecuts.com)! Lisa is standing on the right - hi, Lisa!! Hope they do well with the new product, Plain Jane....just love them!

CHA (Craft & Hobby Assoc./trade show) - Part I

Well, my blog FINALLY decided it was going to cooperate! YEAH! Since I spent the entire weekend @ CHA, I thought I'd post in sections - LOL!! For those who are unfamiliar with CHA, it is where craft retailers purchase from the manufacturers products (related to their business). It is so exciting to see what is up & coming and most of the exhibitors are scrapbook-related (estimated as 50%).

So we'll go in order! The starting point was on Thursday night (July 20th) in Rosemont...well, actually Des Plaines where the Chinese buffet restaurant was located and so YUMMY! Thanks, Fiona, for recommending and taking us there! We had a pow-wow for NSA (National Scrapbooking Association) to discuss our marketing approach as well as getting our "uniform" (a white tee or polo shirt with the NSA logo on it). I got the polo shirt and LOVED it! Thanks to Veronica Hugger for giving us the chance to "expand the passion (ETP)" to CHA! Here are some pics from that night....
















This is the group that came to dinner (sorry to have missed those who couldn't join us!!). It's a bad pic but everyone had a GOOD time! Veronica was hysterical!















That's me with Veronica Hugger (president & co-founder) of NSA! Had fun working with ya, girl!




Then our waiter, Theo, asked whose birthday it was - Veronica blurted out "It's Linda's!" Well, imagine the surprise on Linda's face when they brought out the cheesecake w/ fruit plate! LOL!! But I think she enjoyed it! Too funny!!

AH!! Summer is here!!

FINALLY I got into my blog....forgot the password AND my ID! Guess bookmarking a site doesn't help one's mind (esp. this one!).

First of all, I need to say THANK YOU to my CKU-A friend from Japan (Naoko) for the BEAUTIFUL gift she sent!! Unfortunately, things were going CRAZY in this house and I have something I want to send to you!!! I have a witness that can tell you that I was working on it! Right, Miho?! Please back me up!! LOL!!!

We just got back from a glorious 5-day tour covering Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jackson Hole and Salt Lake City...a few stops in between! Here's the catch...it was all in Japanese! We took a JTB (Japan Travel Bureau) tour...my DH finally could enjoy (& understand more) and the boys had a blast....well, mom also had fun as a refresher course in her Japanese skills!

The tour was perfect! The hiking was tough esp. for those who depend on cars to get everywhere...US! LOL!! The rest of the tour were full of Japanese who flew from Japan to join the tour and mostly retirees...they could handle the hiking without any difficulties! Because in Japan, people WALK EVERYWHERE!!! Most of the days, we were up @ 6:30am and on the bus by 7:40am. We hiked a majority of the five days for about a total of 3-4 hours...the last day in Yellowstone was a killer! The longest we hiked was 1.5 hours (about 8 miles) in one trip and we've been walking around before that! OY! Great sites to see, tho!

Our ending was not all that great! On the last leg of the trip, we were heading towards Salt Lake City and the bus pooped out on us so we had to meet another bus to take us to the hotel. Utah Transportation was great...the bus was waiting for us and not the other way around! Then we went to a Japanese restaurant that we were told was open so we looked forward to our first real Japanese food (SUSHI) in five days! Well, it looked closed and as we got closer....we were right! So we headed to BENIHANA and they ran out of SUSHI?! How can that be?! UGH! The excuse was it was Father's Day and there were lack of staff & food? So we settled for TEPPANYAKI upstairs. OK...that was in one day!

We get to Salt Lake City Airport after visiting the Temple Square (Morman visitor's center) and just when we're checking in, there's a bomb threat! Well, we had to go outside and stood out there for an hour or two because they advised us to check our bags curbside (UA charges extra for this service - UGH!). Once we got our bags checked and with boarding passes, they let us in....but the whole airport was now cleared to go back to business! But that was OK. Now that our bags were checked, everyone else had to go back to the counter and finish checking in so the security lines were EMPTY! A very good $6 investment! LOL!

OK...home safe and sound - you would think!! But NO! At O'Hare Airport, we waited for our bags to come out in a short 1 1/2 hours! What was that all about?! After an hour, DH asked what was going on to an UA employee and they said the standard "wait 10 mins" but he also added "or leave!" HUH?! Made DH furious! Now I can write we made it home safe & sound! LOL!!!





Isn't this BEAUTIFUL?! Looks like someone painted the background but that's in Yellowstone National Park at a place called Lower Falls (you would think they would have picked a better name for this place!!). Notice the yellow minerals or stone that gave the park its name. Just beautiful....so happy to had the chance to go!







One of my favorite picture of "Davey Crocket"...isn't he a cutie?! My little guy had the best time, hanging out with the elders in the tour! LOL!!






Here's my other big boy! Can't believe he'll be starting middle school in a couple of months! Love this picture too!

My parents!

I have to say that I have a pair of great parents! They are patient even after all these years! LOL! My dad offered to take the whole family out on a trip but really the timing was bad for us. We just got done with spring break, DH was in the middle of a series of business trips around the Midwest and Saturday Japanese school year just started. But my dad wanted to give the boys some great memories of their grandparents...isn't that sweet?! I love them for it but they're no spring chicks either! He's 80 years old and it's getting harder for him to walk well. Mom is in her late 60s and is legally blind but after being in LA, her eye sight has gotten worse. They met with the eye specialist here at the Wheaton Eye Clinic and the back of her eye had bleed a little (it's stopped now). But I'm glad we stayed at home...it gives them a chance to relax in our wooded backyard. Instead they were kind enough to present the boys with new bikes...they were extremely excited about it! LOL!!













Oh! Did I tell you they gave me something?! Well, I am now a proud owner of a DSLR!!! A NIKON D50 w/ 55mm lens but I'm planning on getting the 200mm lens SOON! Heehee! The 5x7 pic above was taken with my SONY digi but the bottom small pics were "tests" from my new baby! Figures that the weather in Chicago had been stinky! But it's starting to get sunny and warm here so time to whip out that NIKON!

Oh! This layout above...it won a sketch challenge on www.scrappindeals.com 's MB - May Sketch#3 challenge! Boy, was I EXCITED!!!! Next week, it will be on their newsletter (5,000 subscribers - WOW!). You have to check out their prices...pretty good, if you ask me! Also if you're local (Chicago area), you can pick up your stuff and save on shipping$$$!!! Cool, huh!




















This layout is a small tribute to them! This pic was taken by the limo driver who took my parents to O'Hare airport...love this pic! Looks like my mom and I were thinking SPRING with all that green! LOL!!!! Papers are from 3 Bugs In A Rug, CS is Bazzill and flowers are Primas! <---aren't they cute?! Also lovin' the Heidi Swapp chipboard pink letters! I did a little doodling which is the craze in SB-land! Used some chalking around the edges!

OK...it's late - 1:20AM! YIKES! Gotta sleep....night!