When you need to pass some time with some small talk you always revert to the weather right?  Everyone around here does.  Well, I've got nothing to share today due to my back being out so I thought I would small talk you with the weather.

Of course I have visuals...

Yes, that is hail!  Hard balls of ice that fell from the sky a day or so ago.  It lasted less than 2 minutes. Magnus was quite facinated with it since it was still hot out when it happened.  Talk about confusing to a four year old who is trying to understand seasons! 

The weather has been seriously wacky lately and even today it went from boiling hot to freezing cold about 6 or 7 times.  Magnus and I were constantly putting on and pulling off sweaters and we weren't sure if we should be in shorts or pants.  No wonder we have had tornado watches recently.  (Not common around here.)

Enough weather small talk? Yah, me too!

So I leave for Chantilly, VA tomorrow for the next Great American Scrapbook Convention.  I am pretty excited to see everyone and since I have been resting so much my back is feeling better.  Still sore but no more yelps of pain if I move. :)  I guess I won`t be needing to teaching from a cot in the back of the room after all!  I don`t think I will be bringing my laptop since I don`t want to wack my back again so no blogging while I`m there.

I am going to be in classroom 5 and 10 (not both at the same time obviously, lol) if you are going and want to pop in to say hello.  I would love to see you. :)

There will be advance copies of Cut Loose at the show (they have awesome deals on books at the Memory Makers booth if you are going) and I have a book signing on Saturday from 1-2pm if you are interested (at the MM booth). 

That`s all for today.  I am sad I didn`t get to finish my project to share this week as this blog has been sadly lacking any actual scrapbooking but I hope to remedy that upon my return.  :)

And this includes the desserts!  Oh yum!  The waiter was very clever at Pappadeaux's.  He brought one of everything to the table to tempt us.  And it totally worked!  I had the way too big piece of cheesecake!!  Best one I have ever had and that is saying a lot 'cause I really like cheesecake!

My hair totally agreed with the bigger and better in Texas thing - wow!  I have long red, naturally curly hair and lets just say by lunchtime it was well on its way to taking over the world!

I had a blast at the GASC this past weekend.  Wow, there was a lot of scrapping going on!  I taught for most of my time there and it was great to meet up with loads of people from last year.  I was surprised how many people I remembered!  I also have to give a shout out of thanks to all my classroom volunteers.  They really made my job much easier and I was lucky to have some of the women who helped me last year helping me again. 

I love to get a chance to meet people in person.  Got to meet some blog readers which was really amazing and I also met one woman who said I needed to get my head shot changed.  Know why?  She said in my photo I look really sophisticated and serene and in real life... well, I was much more of a goof and fun.  I so love that!  I think this means my head shot needs to be changed to a photo with my tongue sticking out.  So this is for her...

When I come home from trips I always bring the kidlets some sort of new candy.  Something that is different from what they normally have.  Last year and this year it was a giant lollipop from Texas.  Got to love the bigger and better in Texas thing when applied to candy...

Oh ya, Magnus was happy with my choice!

And then cause my kidlets missed their Momma I came home to this...

A performance including props and dance moves. (Magnus wouldn't part with his lollipop for anything!). I so love when the kidlets put on plays - and got to love the use of boxes!  So great when kids use their imaginations to play.

Well that is it.  I am tired but not as tired as I normally am after a weekend of teaching.  I came home to a sick hubby which makes me feel needed :).  (He's been sleeping the last 2 1/2 days and I had him at the clinic this morning - infection in his blood.)  We have also been under storm and tornado watches the last couple of days which has made for some interesting times.  I am getting organized for the next show but really just hanging out with the family.

Hopefully I will have some crafty urges soon. :)

people don't update their blogs regularly?????

umm, sorry folks.  Been kinda crazy around here lately.  I have been trying to update since last Friday but haven't found a moment. :( 

I leave for Arlington, Texas tomorrow (well I guess technically today since it is after midnight) for the Great American Scrapbook Conventions.  Cannot wait to see everyone. :)  If you are going to be there be sure to look me up.  I'll be in a classroom somewhere...

I am going to try to update from the show but no promises.  I am not 100% sure I am bringing the laptop since I am not sure how much space I will have.  I am now off to pack.

Have a great one everyone :)

That just about sums up my long weekend. 

Remember how I mentioned last week that Harper was sick?  I don't know if I mentioned that she had strep throat.  She went on antibiotics and they seemed to help.  Then Friday she broke out in a rash.  As soon as I saw it I knew - Scarlett Fever!  How did I know?  Well, she had it once as a tiny kidlet and it stuck in my head cause the name sounds so terrible - try saying, I've got Scarlett Fever.  Sounds as if you are on your death bed doesn't it?  LOL  Well, it is nothing that serious.  It is a form of strep that has a rash with it.  So back to the doctor we went and we had to cancel all our plans for the weekend.  She wasn't feeling too badly after we got more meds in her but we couldn't take the chance of passing it to anyone. 

So we were house bound and I have to admit it didn't feel much like the first long weekend of summer.  BUT I did get a lot done.  I figured I might as well get a lot done around the house so NEXT weekend we could have lots of fun! :)  On my list of things to do was a bit of class prep.

I cannot tell you how much I love seeing supplies all piled up and ready to go into class kits.  I absolutely love teaching and knowing that the GASC is right around the corner has got me itching to go.  Can wait to see old friends and meet some new ones. :)

I did get some scrapping done which I will share with you tomorrow.  It is for a new article so I will wait until it is posted to share.

And since in last entry I confessed to you my messy nature I though I would get another confession out of the way.  LOL  We're friends, right?  You can handle my nitty gritty, right?  So here it is...

I am secretly an old lady.  I have things covered in clear plastic. 

OK, so it is not my couch (sorry Grandma!) but it is my scrap table.

You see I use the dining room to scrap.  I use our big antique table as my work surface.  And even though I have a large cutting mat to work off of it was just too nerve racking that something could spill or something could scratch the table.  So the solution I came up with was clear vinyl.  It did make me cringe a bit over the sheer tackiness of it but it made things easy to clean up, protected my table and wasn't covered in distracting patterns (which most tablecloths have).  I went to the fabric store bought a couple of yards and I was all set.  It was super cheap and I thought I would have to replace it often but I have had it for well over a year and it still looks the same.  Three cheers for tacky clear vinyl!  This girl loves it. :)

Not I bumped my head, banged it on something or even fell and then bumped my head.  No, it was more like - Go straight to falling on head; do not pass Go, do not collect $200!

Want to see whose fault it was?

I am pretty sure he is toying with going to the dark side.  Just look at him mocking me with what looks like a thumbs up!  Remember you heard it here first - Obi Wan Kenobi is thinking of going over to the dark side!

So this is how it went down.  I was innocently walking through my bedroom and was unaware of Obi Wan's evil plan.  You see he was laying waiting in the middle of said floor and I was barefoot.  As any parent knows stepping on a toy such as this will cause weirdly strange pain (especially if contact with the bare arch happens!) So I stepped, Obi Wan got my arch, and I tried to make a strange hoppy movement to stop the crazy, weird pain.  I, of course, lost my balance and instead of falling like a normal person I went directly down on my head.  Right in the middle of the forehead.  Now that is pain!  My hands did try to stop the fall but they were useless.  (I am pretty sure Obi Wan knew this would happen!)  I have to admit that even in the pain I laid there thinking - wow!  I wish someone had seen that ‘cause that was hilariously funny.  I mean movie funny.  Like that could only happen in a movie and no real person falls that way.

Again, I am pretty sure this was Obi Wan's plan all along.  He is going to be one evil dude if he converts to the dark side.

So, throbbing headache still, I am taking it easy today.  Was supposed to be making some scrappy stuff but my head is hurting too much.

So today I will share another sample for a class I am teaching.

This is from my class Paradise Point.  It is offered at all 4 GASCs but I believe both Arlington, TX and Chantilly, VA are sold out.  That leaves it open to the folks from Grand Rapids, MI and Chattanooga, TN.

Class is sponsored by Fiskars and Heidi Grace and we make a really fun mini album.  See for yourself.

Lots of fun texture, clear pages and easy to make - great for any photos.

The class is offered on the Friday of the above shows - 4:00-5:30pm.

OH and one more thing.  I have had some inquiries if I am going to be selling some class kits online to people who live too far away from the GASCs. 

I am looking into it.  Some of the products in these cl**** are donated so I obviously cannot sell any kits that have this but I am looking into getting everything figured out.  So if you are interested in any of the class kits you see posted, then shoot me an email.   I have started a list.  There is no commitment - if I can get it arranged I will email you and you can decide then.  If you change your mind I will just move to the next person on the list.  OK?  Questions? Email me.  I don't bite ;)