Vet Visit

Why is it that you can never go to the vet, and get out of there without spending less than $100.00. Now we took 2 yesterday, so that became $200.00, and my boy has some kind of ear muck so now there is antibiotics to give (ear drops) every 12 hours.

It's a sight to behold -- the cat is wrapped in a towel, to keep his claws out of reach of me. I'm trying to hold him still, my husbands trying to get not one but two drops in each ear, and the cat is backing up, twisting, and turning, and squirming until of course, my arms get scratched. We have to do this twice a day. How does an inside cat even get such a thing. The other 3 don't have this problem.

Now ... his sister doesn't recognize his scent (this is my hypothesis - she didn't exactly tell me) because she is hissing and batting at him whenever he walks by. Now these two are litter mates, and have never been separated. I don't detect a scent from the drops, but I guess she does.

Two days down, 5 more to go. I think I'll make it, but now I've had to add crawling under the bed to get the cat because he's figured out that this is going to happen each morning and evening.

Baby Shower Today

Went to a baby shower today for the wife of one of my co-workers. First baby and they made out with lots of clothes, plus car seat, portable playpen, bottle warmer, bottle sterilizer, tons of onesies (which I'm to understand babies live in).

Not having children of my own, I chose a gift from their registry. I got the baby wipe warmer, and my friend (who is a mom twice over) thought this was funny. If I was a baby, I'd want a warm wipey for my hiney, but she informed me that all you need to do is rub the wipe in your hand and it warms up. Who knew.

CKU-A Sold Out

We talked about this at CKU Orlando -- gave serious thought to attending CKU-Albums. Jen, Linda, and I all want to attend but we decided to postpone and attend one next year - either CKU albums, or CKU masters, but definately something out of the state.

I still had to check out the site - I couldn't believe how fast CKU-A Stamford sold out. I think it took just about an hour. I tell you, if you've never been to a CKU, start saving those pennies, and DO IT. You won't be disappointed. To see so many people which share your passion, to learn new techniques, and to meet to leaders in the industry is something not to be missed.

Now .... I'm waiting patiently for the announcement of next years CKU's so I can start to plan my trip.

Ribbon Swaps

Now on to the ribbon swaps from CKU. I did two swaps - one with the CKU-O yahoo group, and another with 5 friends. I'm was happy with both swaps, but the one done with my friends had a better quality of ribbons overall.

Swaps are a great way to get a variety of items with a small investment. Chance are, you won't need 3 yards of any one particular ribbon unless you are doing multiples of the same project, so it's fun to get a yard each of a variety. There are some I received that I probably will never use because they are theme related, or were wire ribbons, but if I don't use them in other projects, I will donate them to a charity which does craft projects.


Now, I've got to find a better way to organize them. I have a dowel to hold spools of ribbon, but need to do something for small cuts of ribbon like what you get in a swap. I'll let you know what I figure out. If you've got suggestions, please let me know.

CKU Make N Takes

I did several of the make-n-takes at CKU. Really wanted to take the one given by Tim Holtz, but the line was so long. Most of my friends were able to do the class, so I'm sure they'll teach me. This year, the make-n-takes were more in-depth. There were less to do, but it took the same amount of time. Also, the lines were very long for several of the areas. There were about 20 make-n-takes, with 12 spots each, and about 600 women wanting to take them. You can do the math to see why there were lines.

Here's a pic of most of the ones I did get to do. I got a chance to try out the new Quikutz machine (the pink one) which is much easier to use - you hardly have to apply any pressure. Most of the items were tags, mini books, and cards.

I Need A Vacation from my Vacation

After 4 days of nothing but scrapbooking, friends, and Canaveral Coolers, it really is a rude awakening to have to come back to the real world of phones ringing, customers, paperwork and problem solving. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

I was so dragging today. Thankfully I got off work at a decent hour so I can get a goodnights sleep. Just need watch all my shows TiVo recorded for me.

Have you Hugged Your Cat Today ?

I'm back from CKU, and I think my kitties missed me. They would not leave me alone. One was curling around my legs (trying to trip me I think), one wanted to be pet continuously, and the other was the proverbial lapcat. Of course, my fourth was giving me the cold shoulder. The gall of me going away for 4 whole days! They all have distinct personalities.

I had a great trip, and had no problems on the road. My car "blue" rolled over 328,000 miles on the trip home. I'm hoping to take her to 500K, but hubby doesn't think so. He takes care of her and keeps saying that if something big goes, I'll have to retire her. I thank her after every uneventful trip, pray to the car gods, and hope to stay car payment free for as long as possible.

On My Way

I'm all packed and ready for CKU. Got my ribbon for the swaps, my AAM pages, my ATC's, and all the supplies needed for the classes. Next update will be after I return home. It's amazing how much stuff you think you need to bring. I'm leaving at noon and should arrive around 4pm.

Decided not to participate in the dorm happenings. It took too much time in 2003, so opted out. I just want to enjoy the classes, and meet up with my friends new and old. It won't be long now.

Got Ribbon ?

I went shopping today for the Prima flowers, and ended up buying more ribbon. It's kinda like cardstock and paper - one can never have enough! I got to my LSS and decided I didn't like the ribbon I was going to use on my AAM pages for the CKU-O swap, then decided to buy some additional ribbon for a small ribbon swap with friends of mine, then found a whole stack of ribbons that hadn't even been put on display yet, so had to buy some of those, and then I saw a cute card done with dotted ribbons, so I had to buy 3 coordinating colors of dotted ribbons to recreate the card. I think I ended up buying about 25 yards all together. It's not that I don't have enough already ... but like I said, one can never have enough. That's why I'm doing 2 ribbons swaps, so by the end of the month I'll have lots and lots more ribbon! Ahhh, the simple things in life.

ATC's

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) are like little pieces of artwork. They're just 2.5 x 3.5" and you trade them with other artists. This one I made for a swap for CKU-O. I can't wait to see what everyone else designs. I made 30 of these for the swap.

Ready or Not!

Well, I've got a few things off my list of Things to Do for CKU. Got the ribbon for the swap out in the mail, finished my ATC's (I'll post a pic later), and bought the extra supplies I'm going to need (any excuse to shop - right?). Now, just need to got to the LSS Saturday and buy some Prima flowers for my AAM pages (already called the LSS and they're on hold at the counter). I just love those flowers. Going to get an extra milk bottle full for a swap at the scrapbook jungle.

I think I'm gonna also bag up some fiber and try to get in on the swaps happening while in the registration line at CKU. Can't wait.

CKU Orlando

After watching Big Brother 6, I devoted some time to organizing for CKU Orlando. Here's my class schedule.

Friday

• Just the Two of Us (CK/Becky Higgins)
• Don't Distress Vacation Style (Making Memories)
• It's Only Natural (Canson)
• Clearly Unconventional (Creative Imaginations)
• Handmade Book Basics and Beyond (Scenic Route Paper Co.)

Saturday

• Texture Therapy (Colorbok/Kollette Hall)
• It's About the Ribbon (Chatterbox)
• Leather Strap Book (Rusty Pickle)
• ABC's of Color (CK/Ali Edwards)
• Synergy (Scrapworks)

I think I'm going to love all my classes. The only thing I regret is not selecting Donna Downey's "Yes, That's a Scrapbook" class. One of my friends is attending it so I'll at least be able to see the finished product, and maybe take some digital pics of it.

Man, I wish it was here already. I really need a break from my normal hectic schedule.

Monday ... Monday

Everything seems so normal again. Back to the grind. Wish I had an extra day off to make up for my missed weekend. I have so much to do. CKU Orlando is approaching fast.

To Do for CKU:

• Finish up ATC's for swap
• Bag and mail ribbon for swap. (for some reason I was thinking 10 years each but I really need 15 yards, so I've got to go and buy some more.
• Start and finish my All About Me pages for the swap (alright, I have the layout in my mind, I just need to put it all together)
• Get pictures together which are required for some of the classes
• Buy additional supplies for classes.

Here's an odd twist .... a new storm has developed now named Emily. Hubby was none too happy that I was worried about it ruining my CKU trip. He said I should be worried about things that matter like the house. I'll be keeping a close eye on her path that's for sure.

Bugger *!@*

No electricity really sucks! My little block of 9 houses lost power Friday night. Hurricane Dennis was still over Cuba, but what the weather man refers to as the "outer bands" still pack some wind and rain. Anyway, it was hot, it was humid, it was dark, the cats were being weird and clingy. (You do not want a cat to come into your lap when you are all sweaty unless you want to have a really hairy lap). After whining and complaining about every 12 hours to FPL, we've finally got POWER! Electricity is a wonderful thing. Turn on the A/C.

Go right now and add this to your emergency plan .... If you need a crutch to handle stress, like cigarrettes, or chocolate make sure you've thought of this and have them with your emergency supplies. I was low on cigarrettes, had no chocolate, AND didn't have a good read available. Not a pretty sight.

The used bookstore was open Saturday, but also had no power. She thought it was funny that I had my own flashlight with me. Found a few books that would do, and off we go went into blissfulness.

Hurricane Dennis

Paying attention to the news all day watching which way Hurricane Dennis is deciding to go. From the looks of things this season will be a busy one. Four named storms, and it's still July. Looks like Dennis (the menace) will stay off the coast, but we will still get some squally weather and lots of rain.

Kay Scarpetta Series

Just finished another of the Kay Scarpetta series books (Cause of Death). I think the next one is Unnatural Exposure. I read about a book a week, so I need to get my butt to the used bookstore and get the next few in the series. It seems I'm out of books and need to reload. I read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Stuart Woods, Leslie Glass, Patricia Cornwall, Iris Johanson, James Patterson, and several others. Just getting started with Dan Brown. I'm reading Digital Fortress then I want to read the DaVinci Code.

Why?

You might ask ... why a blog, when you've resisted for oh so long. No particular reason, other than I didn't want to be left behind. Many scrappers I know have one, so I said Why Not!