Convention 2008

Hi there! It's been a little while, but I've been crazy busy and then out of town. I went to Stampin' Up!s Convention in Salt Lake City. Woohoo! It was sooooo fun! Just imagine 6000 women, all excited about stamping, all swapping card fronts like crazy, all in the same convention center. It was fabulously crazy. Here is the line headed for lunch after general session one day.


I guess line isn't really the right word. The first day we waited in line for 2.5 hours to shop in Momento Mall, the place to get logo wear and other SU! items you can't usually order. It was worth the wait. We just stood there chatting with each other and meeting everyone standing around us in line. It was fabulous! I'll be posting more over on my stamping blog, so check it out! Have a great day!

Working hard

I have been working a lot the last few days and I am pretty darn proud of myself. On my list (#42) is earning the Stampin' Up! incentive trip. I really really want to earn that trip! It's normally a cruise and all expenses are paid, including airfare. You can bring one person and you can buy space for your immediate family (read "the kids"). You can earn this trip a number of ways. The most difficult is selling your little hiney off... my upline has done that. The easier way is selling (a good amount) and promoting (determined by sales and recruiting). So, I'm getting started.

I began by reading all the tips of those before me... the one that hit me the most is "Get your spouse on board." So I asked dear hubby for his support that evening. He asked a bunch of questions about how it is earned and then he asked the most important question of the evening.

"What is your plan?"

"I had a feeling you would say that." I said. Then I asked what info he wanted. He had no clue... just what was my plan. I said, "Uhmmm..."

So there I was, wondering how the heck I was going to do this. I remembered a coach guy I had seen on some stamping blogs that I like. Hmm... I checked it out and bought his book. Wow. I am now working on a plan for more than just earning the cruise... it's for paying for my family's nice vacation every year.

I'm so excited. When I finish, I will be scheduling my "Opening Day". If you know me personally you may get a call between now and then asking about joining (or staying on) my mailing list. If you're interested in what I do or want to be proactive about the mailing list, head on over to http://traceygriffith.stampinup.net and click on "Request My Newsletter" in the top right corner.

I'm so excited. Those 101 little goals have started something amazing!

Denver

Sarah wants to know! This is me spilling!

I loved Denver! I was surprised by it. I thought it was actually in the mountains (I thought all of Colorado was mountains), so you can imagine my shock when the pilot announced we were about to land. It was waaaaay flat! Through the haze I could make out the mountains (wish I had been able to visit).

It was very hot my first day there. The thermometer in the shade said 97. That said, I was not uncomfortable. It's so dry, even in my jeans I was not at all sticky or gooey feeling. Sweat actually works there! The only issue I had with the dryness was that anytime we walked outside I got cotton mouth. I would start coughing my throat was so dry. I was losing my voice before I arrived and it is just now coming back. No healing humidity there!

I had an interesting flight back... I booked it wrong. I intended to return on Sunday night, but booked for Monday. Yes, I'm a dork. I will never deny that. Anyhow, I did manage to get home. I was on edge for >24hrs and praying continuously for openings (yes, literally). I got very lucky and had no troubles flying standby.

My babies were well cared for (of course). I think they had a very good week with Daddy. Clara got a little chubbier and is teething once again. Connor is his normal self, although he is retesting all my limits (it's been an interesting few days).

Well, it's getting late and I'm having trouble concentrating. I'll read this tomorrow and correct any issues... hehehe

I'm home!

I just got home from SU! Convention in Denver. I'm a little later than I expected to be, but I'm still home! I missed my babies sooooo much. This was a much needed break though. I had such a great time. I will probably put most of the details on my stamping blog, so if you are interested check there (link on the sidebar). So anyway, I desperately need a shower! Good night all!

So silent...

here in blogger-land! I haven't abandoned you, I've just been working really hard to get ready for convention. That's right, I am going to Denver for Stampin' Up!'s yearly convention. I am sooooooo very excited. I've been working hard on making card fronts to swap. I haven't done that many, but I am seriously squeezing out every last second I have. I have 20 more I have to make (for organized swaps), and then I can do the fun stuff. Hopefully I will get some serious time in the next few days (even if it means a little less sleep)!

Connor started school on the 5th for the summer. He's starting to like it. The first few days were a little rough for him I think... no bad reports from his teachers, just a seriously grumpy little boy at pick-up time. The last few days he has been happy and even answered a few of my standard mom questions (Did you have fun? What was your favorite thing today?). He was very happy today. He got to sit next to his best buddy at lunch! Unfortunately, we found out T was in a different class on the first day of school. That might explain a little of the grump.

Clara has been a shrieker for the last few days. She's just not a happy camper unless we are outside running around the yard. Okay... sometimes she is happy running around the kitchen. I think her second top tooth is breaking through again. I hate how they pop out and then disappear again! Anyhoo... at this time Clara looks like she's been in a fight. We were outside when she decided she could walk down our front stairs without any help. I figured she would stop, like she's always done in the past. Imagine my shock (and horror) as she stuck her foot out into the abyss. She got soooo lucky! She caught the first step with her face. The edge was right under her nose. Then she flipped and landed sitting up-ish. She banged the front of her head a little, but she was wearing a hat, so her skin stayed intact. That fall could have been so bad... that's all I want to think about that.

On another note, I'd like to ask for some prayers for our family. Michael's right on the edge of getting orders. The wait is driving me crazy. We are also in the process of some other big decisions. These will have a MAJOR affect on our family (hopefully all positive). There's just some pretty big things brewing for us and heavenly guidance is required. Thanks!

Home again, home again...

jiggity, jig. Yes. We made the long trek to VA and back this past week. Wow. Long drive! Actually, down was horrible (we decided to do it in one day YIKES!), but up wasn't too bad. The kids did sooooo well. I of course had a secret weapon. LeapFrog! I bought Connor the handheld version (he got the TV one from Nana and PopPop for Christmas). We broke it out after lunch on the way down. Connor was thoroughly entertained most of the trip. His greatest pleasure came from turning it off and on. Clara slept the whole way home. The trip down was rough for her... especially the last few hours. She was not loving life restrained in her seat. Poor kid. I decided we would fly down for future trips. That may be flexible (like I said, broken into 2 days it's a pretty easy trip). Thank God for my sister though. She flew up here to drive down with me. It gave Michael piece of mind and saved my sanity!

While in VA, I attended Stampin' Up! Regionals (so fun!) and my upline meeting. That was good for mommy sanity and inspiring use of the stamping supplies I seem to be hoarding. :-) I got to go to church, which was good. It was nice seeing faces I've missed. I really miss the preschool and nursery. Connor and Clara are so at ease there. Clara was exceptionally calm. I didn't get the usual anxious look from her. That was nice. Connor had so much fun! Other than that we pretty much hung out and, oh yeah, we closed on the house! Yay! No more worrying about a mortgage payment each month. :-D

We had a little fun by going on an "adventure" as we are now calling them. We visited the Norfolk Zoo. Last time I was there, I was working a USO event (military family day). That was a long time ago... they've renovated since then. It was a good trip.

My favorite animals of the day were the prairie dogs. We came up on the back of the exhibit, so the first thing we did were stick our heads up through the plastic domes in the exhibit. They were running all around us. It was impressive enough that Connor stood and watched for a whole 30 seconds or so. That is an eternity for him. It was neat.

Here is proof that I was actually at the zoo with my children. I'm in a picture. :-)

At the entrance of the zoo there is an awesome fountain that the kids can play in. Fortunately it was warm (almost hot, actually) so Connor, who had been asking all throughout the park, was able to play in the water. He was scared at first to go into the rushing water. After being encouraged strongly, and nearly thrown in by Neil, Connor made the plunge. This is him being talked down afterward. He was a little freaked out by getting so wet so fast. After he realized I was not going to be mad, he had a fine time with "Mo" (Neil). They were both soaked in the end.

And here are my beautiful babies. They tolerated one of mom's photo sessions fairly well.

I guess I should wake them. Nap time is a wonderful thing, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I guess it would be good if they were tired to sleep tonight! ~:-)

He's home!

Woo hoo! After much anticipation (and a surprise move of date) Michael is home. Actually, he's been home, which explains my lack of posting. He has duty tonight, which explains my current posting... hehe.

With Michael's return on Saturday, I realized Christmas is quickly arriving and I have done nearly nothing. I did a little shopping. By a little, I am serious - I've gotten Michael's gift from us, Clara's gift from Connor and our gift for my father-in-law. I ordered my parent's gift several weeks ago - it got back ordered and now I'm beginning to doubt it will get here. We'll see. Aside from that, I have some simple sewing to do and all of Santa's shopping... ah! Now I'm freaking out. Luckily, Michael's "stand-down" started, so he will only have to go into work on duty days. That means shopping for me the next couple of days. My in-laws are coming in shortly, so I don't have too long. I got the Christmas tree up today (constructed and "ribboned"), we just need to put on the ornaments.

On the child front, I started weaning Clara this week. This is long process for me, but it has begun. It is turning out to be a bit of a challenge because she does not like bottles. And she does not like formula. And she does not like fluid below a certain temperature. Are you seeing where I'm going with this? I've finally gotten her to take a bottle with a 1:2 formula:breast milk blend. Poor baby. First mommy makes her sleep in her own crib (yes folks... she's in her own room) and now no mommy milk? What is this world coming to? She's been a little cranky the last few days, but I think she's getting used to the new way of the world.

You should have seen me at the mailbox this afternoon! I have been stalking our carrier (which is hard being that we aren't on a route yet - our mail delivery has been... random) for the latest perk of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. We got a special gift this year - a stamp set for Christmas! Woo hoo! Free stamps! It's not just any set... it's a set from the Spring 2007 mini. It's called Polka Dots ad Paisley. (Go here for a peek.) I have been severely stamping deprived lately, so this was a wonderfully happy thing.

Well, I need to sleep. In addition to shopping joys I have my yearly physical tomorrow... joy. Nothing like meeting a new doctor and then... well... *sigh* I'll live. Just one of the joys of moving. Have a good night! ~:-)