pomp & veggies

I guess my invitation got lost in the mail, LOL.

But although I didn't attend the State Dinner held at the White House in honor of the Indian Prime Minister last night, the menu had my mouth watering!

The Indian PM is a vegetarian, and the White House chefs honored that with a (nearly) 100% vegetarian menu. With the exception of (optional) prawns (so some guests couldn't eat vegetarian for even one dinner???), no animals were harmed in the name of this meal that fed 339 guests. Instead, the menu was filled with delicious, animal-friendly choices, including vegetables from Michelle's White House garden ... check it out:

Potato and Eggplant Salad

White House Arugula w/Onion Seed Vinaigrette

2008 Savingnon Blanc, Modus Operandi, Napa Valley

Red Lentil Soup with Fresh Cheese

2006 Riesling, Brooks "Ara", Wilamette Valley

Roast Potato Dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas and okra

(or)

Green Curry Prawns with caramelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut aged basmati

2007 Granache Beckman Vineyards, Santa Ynez, CA

Pumpkin pie tart

Pear tatin

Whipped cream and caramel sauce

Sparkling Chardonnay, Thibaut Janisson Brut, Monticello, VA

Petits fours and Coffee

Cashew Brittle

Pecan Pralines

Passion fruit and vanilla gelees

Chocolate dipped fruit

Happy Thanksgiving,

it's Theresa's special day!

Happy birthday today to my sister, Theresa! She lives in Clearwater, Florida.

We wish you a fun, special, & memorable day, Terry! :-)

Love,
Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

heads up!

Oh, I so want to experience this someday ... first while looking out the plane's window, and then while standing on the beach below ...

Check out how planes come in for a landing at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten, in the Eastern Caribbean:



Is that cool, or what?

Enjoy the weekend,

meet my Grandma

My spunky 87-year-old Grandma volunteers 6 days a week at a senior citizen's center in southern Ontario, Canada. And she was recently featured in an article in The Windsor Star! You can read it HERE.

Congratulations, Grandma! :-)

it's Rebecca's special day!

Happy 3rd birthday today to my niece, Rebecca! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

We wish you a FUN & FABULOUS day, Rebecca! :-)

Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

armchair travel

So yesterday I went to the Galápagos Islands. Well, not really ... I was sitting in my kitchen with my laptop, attending my (first-ever) Webinar that just made it feel like I was there. Fantastic! I captured a few screen shots:

Naturalists from National Geographic Expeditions hosted a one-hour Galápagos Webinar (a live online seminar) to discuss the Islands and the incredible creatures that inhabit them. Of course, it was a sales pitch too (for their tours), but I loved it all. Good planning info ... for this "someday" dream eco-trip.

And if you're interested, NGE will be hosting more (free) Webinars soon ... next is Costa Rica on November 9, and then Alaska on December 1. I'll be "attending"!

Want to join me?

October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month

Are you looking for a new furry friend? If so, it's October ... and it's Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month!

Please consider adopting from your local animal shelter. By opening your heart and your home to a precious, lonely, homeless dog, you'll be rewarded with a companion who will be forever thankful and loving.


Thank you,

it's Sarah's special day!

Happy 6th birthday today to my niece, Sarah! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

We wish you a FUN & FABULOUS day, Sarah! :-)

Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

a new month

Hi there & happy October!

And today is World Vegetarian Day, kicking-off Vegetarian Awareness Month.

To learn more about a vegetarian lifestyle, and the plight of animals, you can request or download a Vegetarian Starter Kit.

We are their voice...thank you!

Buddy had a great Sunday

Yesterday we took Buddy back to the clinic for a re-check. The vet was pleased with how well Buddy is doing ... his bite wound is healing nicely, he's walking OK, and he's chipper. We're SO thankful!

And when we got home he gleefully helped Sal finish an Italian ice, so cute:

ScrapPink

After a long week, I really needed a break/distraction today. Something fun. So it was one of my local scrapbook stores to the rescue!

All day today Everything Scrapbook & Stamps hosted a ScrapPink event ... annual fun, all in pink, of course! ... to support breast cancer research and survivors. I enjoyed some time with friends, along with some pink lemonade & pink cookies, played "for-the-cure" bingo, and got inspired by all the creative projects on display around the store. And I picked up a raffle ticket for a chance at winning this big bundle of pink scrapbooking goodness:
Hope you're enjoying the weekend,

must-see TV

In my experience, there generally aren't a lot of great TV shows to watch on Sunday nights.

Not so this weekend!

On Sunday, PBS will be premiering the first of 6 parts of a new documentary film by Ken Burns ... The National Parks: America's Best Idea. I can't wait! I love our national parks ... and it was thrilling to visit 5 of them in Utah this year (see my blog posts from late March & early April). To me, the parks are special places, and it looks like this film will really capture that.

So I'll be tuning in to PBS all next week, I don't want to miss a minute of this film! Please let me know your thoughts on it ... and what is your favorite national park?

Enjoy!

a step forward for animals

U.S. House Representative McCotter (R-MI) has sponsored an amendment to the tax code that would allow pet owners to deduct veterinary expenses (up to $3,500 annually).

This is a phenomenal idea! It's intended to promote healthcare for domestic animals, and to alleviate the financial burden during these trying economic times. And in turn, hopefully, fewer animals will be abandoned due to expense.

You can read specifics about the bill HERE. And please take a moment to sign this online letter that the ASPCA will immediately forward to your local member of Congress (determined by your zip code). With these letters, your Representative will realize that this issue is important to his/her constituents, and that will further encourage them to support it.

On behalf of animals, THANK YOU! :-)

an update ...

Hi everyone and thanks so much for your thoughts and kind words about our recent trauma.

Buddy has been resting comfortably, and his ability to walk has improved a lot. So thankful for that! Yesterday, the radiologist didn't have any major concerns, but said that we need to watch for any signs that Buddy's abdominal cavity may have been punctured. But, the vet didn't seem to think that that had happened. {thankful again}

We're monitoring the bite wound carefully for signs of infection, and consulting with his vets often. One vet recommended that I put warm compresses on it, and he really seems to enjoy that. I'm sure it's soothing.

I'm still reeling from the shock of it all, it took a while for my hysteria to wear off. And I'm trying to stop replaying it all in my mind. I'm a bit sore, either from landing on the pavement or from the dog pouncing on me (or both?), but other than that I'm OK.

As traumatic as this was, it could have been much worse...

Thanks again for your concern, it's so appreciated,

a traumatic night

Yesterday evening it rained, and since that made it a little cooler outside, I thought it would be nice for me, Sal, Buddy & Aruba to go for a walk around our neighborhood.

That turned out to be a horrible idea.

Before we could comprehend what was happening, a large dog (we estimate about 120 lbs!) bolted from our neighbor's house and jumped on me and Buddy (who is only 36 lbs)! It was AWFUL !!! We were both knocked down onto the street, and although my hands were stinging from scraping the pavement, I was struggling to keep my body between hers and Buddy's, hoping to protect him. It was dark and I couldn't see everything that was happening, but I could hear Buddy yelping from pain. OMG, I'll never forget that terrible, terrible sound of something harming my angel Buddy! And I remember that during the ordeal I was able to see that Sal had scooped Aruba up in his arms, so she was totally protected ... and she is OK, but was shaken up! (I still am)

Afterwards, Buddy could not walk and was in obvious shock. I was hysterical at this point! We rushed him to an emergency clinic (the same one where he had his lung cancer surgery), and a trauma vet took X-rays and tended to his bite wound. Thankfully, the bite did not puncture any organs. But Buddy sure is sore, is walking slowly, and is on pain meds and antibiotics. And of course as a cancer patient, this is the LAST thing he needed. Now we'll need to carefully guard against infection from the bite, since his immune system is compromised from the chemo.

Buddy loves to go for walks, and I was just trying to give him some joy. It has been a rough summer for him, he has been through so much. Instead it turned into a night of trauma, for all of us.

This morning, I'm waiting to hear from a radiologist about additional analyses of Buddy's X-rays, and will keep you posted.

in bloom

Wanted to share the beautiful bougainvillea tree in our front yard. Sometimes it's "quiet", with no flowers ... and other times, it just blooms and blooms ... and blooms. That fantastic magenta color makes me happy!

it's that (wonderful) time of year again ...

QQPR event: part 2

So I'm (finally) back here with details and pics of the rest of my Quick Quotes Private Reserve (QQPR) scrapbooking weekend.

Actually, on Monday after the event, we had planned to go to SeaWorld, since we were already in Orlando and had SW tickets leftover from our plans to go last year. But Sal wasn't feeling well, poor guy, it spoiled his weekend ... he went to a clinic and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, no fun! But with some rest and meds, he felt better quickly and thankfully we were still able to celebrate my Mom's birthday with my parents, as planned.

So now back to the event ... continuing on from my Sept 12 post ... Saturday was filled with tons of fun workshops and activities! Here are random glimpses of some projects:

(yes, that IS a giant paperclip binding the mini-album ... how cute & clever, right?)

My tablemates ... from left, Kim, me, Marilyn & Diane ...

And our work-in-progress, what a mess! LOL

On Saturday evening, Sal and I had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Orlando, Nile Ethiopian. If you're never tried Ethiopian food, please consider it! So, so delicious! And with this restaurant's authentic atmosphere, you feel like you're in Africa. We always order their "Taste of Nile" vegetarian platter ... a tempting array of vegetables & spices. And with a cup of Ethiopian spice tea ... perfect! And everything is eaten with small pieces of injera, a "sticky" & slightly sour (but delicious) pancake-like "bread" that you use to pick up the food, instead of using utensils. So exotic!

And speaking of food, QQ provided lunch on Saturday and Sunday ... a delicious buffet one day, and yummy wraps the other (including vegetarian, yay!)

And just look at that dessert table ... isn't it so "scrapworthy"?

The event continued Saturday night with more non-stop fun ... more great projects, plus the owner of QQ, Patsy Gaut (with me, below), gave a keynote address about "enjoying (and scrapbooking) the little things". She was the creative force behind the launch of the Quick Quotes company ... she writes the poems that are featured on their vellum embellishments!

On Sunday morning, we got an early start working on an all-day 20-page album project. We spent the day creating 12" pages ... I only finished 10 of them (I'm a slow scrapper!), but I had a blast and was proud of what I created. You can see 6 of the album pages HERE.

The event wrapped-up with a slideshow of fun photos captured during the weekend, and drawings for lots of prizes. Look at all those goodies!

Here's a group photo (courtesy of Michelle with QQ) snapped before we all departed (I'm in the middle, to the right of the window, 3rd row back, peeking out between the lady in orange and the lady in red):

I'm always sad when these events come to an end!

Kudos to Quick Quotes for an event that was fun & super well-organized, with lots of nice surprises! The QQ staff works hard and it shows! Michelle (with me, below) was an awesome teacher! I highly recommend the QQPR event ... several more will be held around the U.S. later in 2009 ... in Washington, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania & Arizona. Check it out! They're not coming back to Orlando in 2010 (bummer!), but I hope they'll return to Florida sometime soon!

fun celebrating with Mom!

Sal, Buddy, Aruba & I had a fabulous time celebrating my Mom's birthday yesterday! So glad that we could all be together for her special 65th birthday.

Here are some highlights of the celebration:

... my Mom & Dad together during our breakfast out...

... the gifts.... some great new things for my Mom to enjoy in her garden ... a beautiful brass watering can, a copper hanging birdbath, and a gorgeous magenta-colored bromeliad plant ... and of course, Buddy & Aruba were eager to help with the unwrapping!

... the cake ... so pretty in pink & yellow ... and yummy too!

... Mom enjoying her new gifts ...

... me & Mom with a plumbago plant in her pretty backyard garden ...

We ended the day with dinner out, and then Sal and I had to head home in the evening ... we'll miss you, but will see you again soon, Mom & Daddy!

P.S. ~ I'll be blogging about the rest of my scrapbooking event (from last weekend) within the next day or so. Please check back soon to see all the great projects!

it's my Mom's special day !!!

Happy 65th birthday today to my Mom! She lives in Seminole, Florida and we're so glad that we're here celebrating this milestone birthday with her.

We wish you a FUN & MEMORABLE day, Mom! :-)

We love you Mom,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

what? another one?!?!?

Hello from Orlando! I'm here attending a terrific scrapbooking event (yes, another one!) called Quick Quotes Private Reserve '09. It's put on by a great family-owned sb'ing company called Quick Quotes (hereafter QQ), and I was thrilled when I learned that they were bringing the event to Florida! I love their products, kits, & creative ideas.

I arrived Friday evening and am having a fab time already! And making it even better is that Sal is with me! On the way here, he patiently waited (thanks sweetheart!) while I browsed at my fave scrapbook store here in Orlando ... Scrappy Boutique. They have a nice selection of the latest & greatest sb'ing goodies, I love visiting their shop every time I'm in Orlando. If you're a scrapper and will be coming to Orlando, be sure to put them on your "must-visit" list! They have unique projects on display too, like these oh-so-cute decorated S-C-R-A-P letters (photographed with permission, of course!):

On Friday evening, the event began with some make & take projects ... one of them was to create and personalize our own name tags, love that! Here's mine:

And some of the projects were using sb supplies to make cards to send to our troops, I loved that too! They're gathering the blank cards that we made and sending them overseas so that the troops will have a big supply of cards handy to send to their loved ones. How nice is that? I thought it was especially appropriate since Friday was the Sept 11 anniversary. Such a sad day, and not forgotten even though we're attending this event.

The QQ gals are giving us tons of goodies, here I am enjoying some of my new "loot":

Notice that I'm wearing the charm necklace that was designed by Heidi Swapp for Creative Escape 09 (see my previous post for an up-close pic of it) ... and it's getting lots of compliments here! It's so pretty.

They also have an on-site store set up where you can browse all the fun QQ kits ... such nice projects!

A room full of pretty tables invited us into the Welcome Ceremony, where they introduced the QQ staff and gave us an overview of the event.

We worked on a couple more small projects, and then it was time to crop til midnight ... but I got tired way earlier than that!

I really miss Buddy & Aruba, but am happy that they're having fun with my parents. "Grandma" even cut up some fresh carrots special for Buddy to snack on!

Unless I'm too exhausted, I plan to be back here blogging during the weekend ... until then, you can go HERE to get a sneak peek at some of the projects that we'll be working on.

Enjoy the weekend,

Susan

Creative Escape: Friday & Saturday

Hi, I'm back to continue on with details of my 2009 Creative Escape ... Friday & Saturday ...

Friday at Creative Escape:
After breakfast, the event began early ... 8:00 AM ... with the first of 4 workshops that day ... first up: Heidi Swapp! Pretty cool for me, because she's my fave sb designer! She gave a nice introduction about capturing "once in a lifetime" moments in our scrapbooks. And that was the theme of her mini-album-with-an-easel project too:

(sorry, but none of these pictures will do the projects justice)

Next was Lynette Carroll's workshop ... a stunning wall art project! All in an elegant color palette of black, cream & gray:

Here's my CE pal Renee from NY (so great to finally meet you, Renee!) working on Lynette's beautiful project:

During one of my Friday classes, the CE crew came in with a cart full of RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) to give away! Yes, more fun! My goody bag included some fun embellishments, bling, and an acrylic album. Sweet!

Here I am in Debby Schuh's workshop ... don't I look happy? I was !!! :-) And notice my new zebra scrapbooking tote next to me?
Debby had us create a cutie pink, black & white Creative Escape-themed mini-album. She gave us lots of great ideas for collecting memorabilia on any trip, so clever!

My final class on Friday was with Marah Johnson. We worked with a box that contained 12 tiny books, and we used scrapbooking techniques on each one and on the box too! Who knew that spraying Glimmer Mist on flocked paper would be so beautiful, or was even a possibility? Gorgeous!

In some photos, I'm wearing a necklace that was designed by the über-talented Heidi Swapp ... it's oh so pretty! And I felt pretty wearing it. Here's a close-up:

It's a beautiful toggle design, with each of the charms having symbolism and chosen for a specific reason, and providing reminders of CE:

heart ==> my love & passion for scrapbooking

butterfly ==> fun, and the chance to be renewed

wing ==> the freedom that comes from learning new techniques

crown ==> my life is important & worth remembering

pearl ==> a reminder that with time & effort, something remarkable and precious is created

crystal ==> a reminder that I am multi-faceted and that I can shine

Here's me (looking tired!) & Michelle from California (Dog Mom to Max & Fenway, who often "write" e-mails and blog comments to Buddy & Aruba ... so cute!):

me & Denise (from Idaho) ... so happy to meet you, Denise!:

me & Vicki & her daughter Ashley (who live near me here in SoFla):
At the Friday night dinner, there was a neat little gift at each of our places ... a custom-decorated Creative Escape cookie ... too pretty to eat! (although I heard that Tim ate his right away, LOL) Those nifty CE surprises thrill me!

After dinner, it was time for the "Friday Extravaganza". The fun never stops at CE (that explains why I was too beat to blog)! We worked on an album that is based on Natasha Bedingfield's song Unwritten (which is now on my iPod) ... the project purpose is to, as the song suggests, inspire us to document our life's journey, not to leave it "unwritten".

While we were enjoying the Friday night festivities, CE had the hotel staff deliver goodies to our rooms ... how fun to walk in and find this on my bed! It was filled with great stuff ... some cardstock, Philosophy facial cleanser, and lots more. It's just one fun thing after another at CE!

Saturday at Creative Escape:

The final day of CE began with a class from Carol Wingert. She designed a 3-D pyramid box with a clear panel that lets you peek inside at whatever special something you want to put in it! Very unique!

Next was a workshop with Deb Crouse & Paula Cheney from 7 Gypsies. We made another beautiful piece of wall art:

And then it was on to a colorful and cheery mini-album workshop with Heather Bailey. It was very detailed, and I didn't come anywhere near finishing it!

Heather also has a line of stunning fabrics, and they were sold in bundles of fat quarters (wrapped in pretty tulle ribbon) in the CE store. Now you know why I got up early and got over there for the store's opening! Her fabrics were gone in a flash! But I was lucky to get some and I look forward to using them in my scrapbooking projects.

My final class of CE was with Tim Holtz. I love arriving at a class and having a class kit and fresh workspace waiting, such a treat!

And his project was totally adorable ... and perfect for me as a travel fanatic! ... a teeny-tiny (2.5" x 3.5") album in a teeny-tiny suitcase! (photos courtesy of Tim's blog):

A great place to record our "moments from the journey". So is that cute, or what???

After the final workshop and a short break, we gathered for the Saturday night dinner & Closing Ceremony. It's a fun time to reminisce about the weekend's events, especially during the slideshow (and yes, my funky feet were featured in the slideshow!), but it's also sad that the event is wrapping up.

During the slideshow, they played fun songs like Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape, Natasha's Unwritten, and Fabulous from the "High School Musical 2" soundtrack. Of course, they're all on my iPod now.

And as is a CE tradition, at the Saturday night dinner we "eat dessert first". And it was delish!

And it came with a little zebra purse that contained either some pretty pink & green beads, or a bracelet. The one lucky gal who got the bracelet also won a spot at CE next year, wow!

During the dinner, they awarded lots of random prizes ... just kept drawing name after name. It was exciting to watch, and some other lucky Susans won! Here's Susan from NY (top) and Susan from Atlanta (below) with their bundles of scrapbooking goodness. Congrats girls!

Saturday evening closed with a keynote speech by Melanie Wellman. It was an inspiring continuation of the "unwritten" theme, encouraging us to live a life worth scrapbooking!

Oh, and one more thing that I love about CE ... collecting the pins (buttons) ... otherwise known as "flair" if you're a fan of the movie Office Space! *wink* Anyway ... they have lots of fun designs, like "creative bliss" and "it's a dry heat", but my favorite has to be "I got in!", referring to our name being drawn in the CE lottery to be able to attend! I put my pins all over the straps of my tote ... loved it!

I spent Sunday morning hanging with friends ... and after a delayed flight out of Phoenix, I landed in Ft Lauderdale at midnight and was greeted by Sal's smiling face! Although I had a fabulous and memorable time, I was glad to be back home with Sal, Buddy & Aruba ... and to be back in Florida where there's some humidity, LOL !

Now, I'm awaiting delivery of my box of scrapbooking "loot" that I shipped home ... according to UPS tracking, that brown truck will be pulling up to my house with it on Tuesday.

And as usual, I'm still unpacking ... I know, I know I've been home for a week ... but I'm not putting my suitcases or scrapbooking supplies away just yet! I'm off to another exciting sb'ing event later this week, woo hoo! This one's a little closer to home ... Orlando ... stay tuned for all the fun details!

Also ... to everyone who gave me RAKs during CE ... Renee, Faye, Jody, Michelle, Kyoko, Debby, Georgia, and everyone ... THANK YOU! It was such a treat to have a fun surprise handed to me out of the blue, or to go back to my room and find that you had a RAK delivered to me! Your thoughtfulness made CE extra special for me!

And to all my CE friends ... thanks for the fun memories, and I hope to see you in Phoenix at CE 2010! :-)

Creative Escape: Tuesday thru Thursday

OK, since I have SO many details and pics to share from Creative Escape 2009, I thought I'd break them up into a couple of separate posts ... Tuesday thru Thursday first, and then soon I'll post the happenings of Friday thru Sunday. Otherwise, this would be the longest blog post ever!

But first, I'd like to shout out a BIG thanks to my sweet Sal for tolerating all the madness that is CE ... listening to me yap about it for months and months beforehand ... agreeing to the expen$e of it ... running to Best Buy with me at the last minute to get a new reader for our camera's memory card ... getting up at 3:30 AM to take me to the airport, all so that I could catch an early flight & enjoy more time in Phoenix ... giving Buddy & Aruba so much TLC while I was gone ... and for picking me up at the airport in the middle of the night when I got home (loved seeing your smiling face when I got off the plane!). Thank you Sal, for CE ... it's much more than just a scrapbooking weekend; it's "soul food" for me and I appreciate it!

Tuesday at Creative Escape:

Here's what my blog's countdown clock looked like as I left for Phoenix ... it was definitely time to let the fun begin!

I arrived in Phoenix tired after a long cross-country flight from Florida, trying to adjust to the time zone difference. I had some help from the Aji Spa (LOL), which is at the beautiful Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort where CE was held...this is the resort's gorgeous pool area (photo courtesy of my fellow CE'er Timi F., shown below, right, with Kyoko):

I was certainly on my way to feeling better after Aji's refreshing "Mo'otk" massage ... 80 minutes of pure bliss that's specifically meant to help with jet lag and travel fatigue. Citrus scents + a scalp massage + a heated foot mask = Heaven. Loved it! :-)

Feeling refreshed, I met up with my friend Diane (I'm waving hi Diane!), who also flew in that day, from Montana. We enjoyed a nice pizza dinner together ... all while watching a stunning Arizona sunset (see it in previous post).

I went back to my room fully intending to blog, but fell into bed instead.

Wednesday at Creative Escape:
Lots more CE'ers arrived on Wednesday, and it was fun to meet up with everyone again, and to make some new friends too. I've met the nicest gals through CE ... made wonderful friendships. I loved seeing everyone wearing zebra stripes in every form of fashion too, what a hoot!

That morning, Diane and I jumped in a rental car and went on a scrapbook "shop hop" around Phoenix. Such a great time! It was a whirlwind visit to 5 stores, then we ran out of time (and energy). We did a "loop" around the city, as best we could ... Phoenix is huge! We went to Melrose Vintage (downtown Phoenix), Scrapbooks Etc. & Mystic Paper (both in Mesa), and Scrapbook Barn & Scrapology (both in Gilbert). It was the first time I used the GPS in my iPhone ... I had it all programmed with Phx sb store locations, and we were able to just zip from one to another, cool!

I caught Diane in the shopping act at Melrose Vintage:

And, of course, I wore my now-famous shopping shirt that says "My husband lets me buy all the scrapbooking supplies I can HIDE." It's a riot and gets laughs at every sb store I visit!
I love seeing all the cute displays, each store really has its own personality. These are scenes from Scrapbook Barn (and they have some clever page kits!):

The other fun part about shop-hopping was that we met up with other CE-ers doing the same thing! Here's me and Kyoko after a fun shopping spree at Mystic Paper (yes, Sal, that's a bag in my hand! you caught me! *tee hee*):

We ended the day with a Mexican dinner (enjoyed some awesome veggie tortilla soup!), and then went back to the hotel. It was late, and I collapsed into bed.

Thursday at Creative Escape:
Thursday was the official start of CE. In the morning, I waited for the opening of the on-site "CE store". That's when all the unique CE-themed goodies are put out, and it's first-come, first-served ... they sell out quickly and when they're gone, they're gone. We all had fun browsing around (note the gals in the zebra hats!)Last year I was disappointed to miss out on some neat items at the CE store, but this year I knew better!

It was also time to pick up our registration materials, which included our CE totes in the most yummy shade of green. And I had all the teachers sign my CE tote ... what a fabulous keepsake! The bag even includes a pocket for our water bottles ... and of course, they gave us bottles with zebra CE labels! I just love all those little touches that the CE staff adds to the event!

The registration table looked so calm and orderly before hundreds of frenzied scrappers descended on it (love the zebra balloons)! And look at all those pretty beaded lanyards awaiting our nametags ... so exciting! Like I said, lots of special touches at CE! Why use a string when you can wear "jewelry"?Barb and I were goofing around with some of the CE photo props ... except the zebra & lime green bag that I'm holding is real ... it's mine! And I let her wear the crown, LOL:
Then I was off to the hotel lobby to meet Esther, who had so kindly coordinated a giant order of gourmet cupcakes for us from Sprinkles. I got there and saw boxes and boxes of cupcakes ... thanks so much for all that effort, Esther! I ordered 2 flavors, coconut and key lime. Oh! So! Yummy!
All of Thursday afternoon was split between the Trunk Show and the Technique Boutique. As the name implies, the Trunk Show is where each of the 8 CE teachers has a table displaying his/her crafts. So many beautiful projects! It's also a chance to meet and hang with the celebrity teachers, get autographs and take photographs. Before the event, I had a CE craft apron made, and I blinged it up with glitter and rhinestones ... then I had the teachers all sign it in lime green ink during the Trunk Show ... it came out looking spectacular, another fab keepsake that I'll treasure! (photo credits: the shots of me with the teachers were taken by my CE pal Diane, thanks!)

me & Heidi Swapp

Heidi loved what I did with my apron, which thrilled me because she's the Creative Queen!

I'm always looking at Heidi's projects on her blog, so it was nice to see them in person at the trunk show:

Sharing a fun moment with Debby Schuh:

from L to R: Diane, Lorraine, Tim Holtz & me

Amazing Story: Lorraine & Diane were friends & neighbors in Australia, while Diane lived there for a few years, back in the 80s. They had not been in touch since, but fate re-united them at Creative Escape! Neither knew that the other was attending CE 09, and they just happened to meet up on the airport shuttle on the way to the resort. Isn't that incredible?!?!?

The Technique Boutique is a series of "stations" where you do an activity or project. They teach some of the techniques that we'll need to use in the workshops, and also give away product samples. Fun stuff! I also got to spend time with my friends Mona (from Hawaii, lucky girl!) and Myra:
As if that wasn't a great enough beginning to CE, a fun Welcome Ceremony was held Thursday night ...

I love that CE is an event with attendees from all around the world:

The event co-founders, Heidi Swapp (my fave sb'ing designer!) and Doug ("Mr. Bazzill"), of the Bazzill Basics cardstock company, gave an overview of the event, formally introduced the teachers, and made the announcement that we had ALL been hoping for ... that there will indeed be a CE 2010 ! The crowd (all 650 of us) went WILD in our zebra stripes !!! Such HAPPY news! And to give you an idea of why I was (and still am) so exhausted ... the fun continued immediately after the Ceremony ... we were constantly on-the-go! ... of the 650 attendees, 300 of us had been on the CE message board for the months preceding the event ... and all 300 of us gathered in the hotel lobby for a P-A-R-T-Y !!! It was a great chance to mingle, hang out, chat, laugh, and even win door prizes. It was almost funny to see hotel security hanging around ... I suppose 300 scrapbookers could cause trouble, right?!?!?

"The Susans", as we're known, got together for what is becoming our annual tradition, a group photo ... from left to right ... me (a.k.a. Susan from Florida), Susan from North Carolina, Susan from New York, and Susan from Atlanta:

We're wearing CE T-shirts that were designed by one of the gals on the messsage board, it's a stunning work of art ... and I blinged mine up with rhinestones, of course! (it's the same design that's on my apron, pictured above)

Once again, I went back to my room Thursday night thinking I would blog for a while, but instead collapsed into bed. I needed some rest for an early start on Friday!

More CE fun in an upcoming post.....

round 6 ... the LAST one!

Today Buddy had his final round of chemotherapy! Oh, happy day!
:-)

To celebrate this milestone, the cancer clinic gave him a bag of treats with a sticker on it that says "Happiness is ... the last day of treatment!" Love that! It is so going in his scrapbook!
And his remission progress report had some celebratory artwork on it too!
Buddy was no doubt getting tired of the chemo routine ... they said he was "naughty" during his treatment today. Oh Buddy! Kind of funny.

In keeping with our tradition, Buddy and I celebrated together at Sonic on the way home. Here he is in the back seat watching Mommy inhale a grape slush, LOL (although I've really gotten addicted to their mango limeade too!) ... what a cutie!

It seems that every time we go to Sonic after chemo, we've had the same carhop. So today he was especially happy for Buddy, so nice!

Looking ahead ... the next phase of Buddy's care will be metronomic therapy, beginning in about a month. He'll be taking pills that will deliver a continuous anti-cancer treatment to his system. And he'll continue getting periodic remission exams and follow-up X-rays, to make sure the cancer is staying quiet.

Congratulations, Buddy! You've had a rough summer, but you've been such a trooper and we love you!

And thanks to everyone for your support and concern over the past several months! It meant a lot.

P.S. ~ I'm (still) putting together some blog posts about Creative Escape ... it has been a busy week since I got home Monday morning.

jet lag...

Hello, here I am! Awake. Finally. I tell you, for someone who loves to travel, it seems that I'll never adjust to jet lag. It hits me harder with every long flight I'm on!

Anyway ... after coming out of my stupor, I was able to get caught up on some stuff here. And next on my list is to blog all about Creative Escape. I've never been so delayed in writing about a trip, geez! Thanks for your patience ... please check back here over the next day or two and I'll have all the fun details and pics posted. Promise!

I had to run a few errands today, so I stopped in a brand-new Michaels store that opened near me, in Boynton Beach, over the weekend. I was at CE during the store's grand-opening, and couldn't wait to get over there and see what the new store was like. They have a nice scrapbooking section ... it's set up more like a traditional scrapbook store than just a general craft store. And those weekly M's coupons sure are a plus! If you attended CE you might be interested to know that they carry Heather Bailey's cheery & colorful product line too! And they have the coolest little shopping baskets ... they have wheels and a "pull-up" handle, like luggage, that let you pull it behind you as you browse around the store. More fun than a traditional shopping cart! :-)


Catch you back here soon!

Happy September,

Saturday early AM

Hello! I'm a bit more energetic now and don't feel like I'll fall asleep in the middle of a blog post ... perhaps I'm finally coming off east coast time?

Friday was fabulous here at Creative Escape! Four amazing workshops, a delicious sit-down dinner, and then another fun project in the evening as part of CE's "Friday Extravanganza". I'll have to give you pics and details about those after I get home ... for now, I've only downloaded miscellaneous photos from my iPhone, and none from my camera. So I thought I'd start sharing a few scenes from this amazing week. Until I get home and have a chance to empty my camera's memory card and can give you the whole scoop!

A couple of iconic scenes welcomed me back to the southwest: a stately cactus and a breathtaking Arizona sunset that I enjoyed from my room's balcony:

You may recall that the official colors of CE are pink, green, black & white ... and that this year, as a twist on that, the b&w took the form of zebra stripes. That has been wild ... we look like a herd of zebras meandering throughout the hotel, LOL! It has been crazy seeing what everyone's doing with it, including me! From zebra-striped purses, shirts, hats, sb'ing tote bags, to my sandals ... complete with the pink & green ribbons that I added. Not to mention my pink & green toenails! What a hoot! The CE photographer even approached me to ask if he could photograph my feet for --- what else? --- the CE 09 scrapbook! Too funny!

Well, unfortunately, that's it for now ... my laptop and I are both running out of juice.

I'll be back with more fun details & pics either sometime this weekend, or on Monday after I'm back home ... and recovered from the jetlag.

Enjoy the weekend,

Susan

Friday early AM

It's the middle of the night here in Arizona, which seems to be the only free time that I have to blog!

I've been constantly on the go here at Creative Escape ... one super fun activity after another, and lots of socializing ... I have so many details & pics to share with you, but I can barely keep my eyes open right now! Sorry!

One thing I just have to share tho is news that just can't wait! It was announced tonight during the Opening Ceremony that there WILL be a CE in 2010 !!!! Holy cow,we were all kind of stunned after all of the rumors swirling that the sour economy was taking a toll on the event. Imagine a room full of 600 jubilant scrapbookers when we were told this news! People were immediately texting the 2010 event dates to friends & family. And it'll be held here again at this beautiful resort, how wonderful ! I am totally thrilled!

I guess I'd better get to bed ... geez, I have to wake up soon! On Friday CE gets off to an early start with 4 workshops and then an "extravaganza" that lasts late into the night! Hmmm ... so I might be MIA again ...

zzzzzzz,
Susan

exhausted...

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long time, no write...

I had a smooth trip out to Arizona, but I've been on the go every second since my plane touched down!
And now it's late Wed night and I'm exhausted! As in beat. Bushed. Wiped.
But I assure you it's from all good things. :-)

I need to collapse into bed. I'll be back here with pics & details soon...promise!

Susan <--- who's blogging from the tiny screen of her iPhone, so cool!

here today ... gone tomorrow

boarding pass printed? check!
Hurricane Bill gone? check! (whew!)
scrapbooking supplies packed in zebra-print tote? check!
craft apron (for the "messy" workshops)? check!
pink & green & zebra-print stuff to wear? check!
everything's packed in -- what else? -- my new zebra-print duffle? check!
scrapbooking & travel magazines to read on the plane? check!
Phoenix sb'ing stores programmed in my GPS? check!
Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" on my iPod? check!

OK then, I guess I'm ready to head to Phoenix to attend Creative Escape 2009!

My flight departs Ft Lauderdale (very) early AM tomorrow. {yawn}

But that's OK ... I can't wait to get to Arizona for CE 09, to see 600 of my scrapbooking peeps and get the fun started! The event doesn't officially begin until Thursday, but I'm arriving early to enjoy the beautiful resort (and spaaaahhhh), relax, spend time with friends, and -- of course! -- check out some of the local scrapbook stores (a.k.a. "shopportunities" LOL). Like Utah, Arizona is loaded with them! Perhaps you remember the fun I had scrapbook "shop hopping" my way around Utah earlier this year? (check out my March 23 and March 27 blog posts)

I'm excited !!! As Kramer says while pointing to his head in one of the Seinfeld episodes, " ... up here, I'm already gone...". One of my favorite lines, so kooky! LOL

So I'll meet you back here on Tuesday night ... I'll be blogging live & daily from the 107-degree desert southwest!

T minus 2.5 days ...

Wow, it's almost time for Creative Escape 2009 !!! Ah, that long-awaited and fabulous scrapbooking event...

Today I'm busy packing and finishing up last-minute stuff before I head to Phoenix on Tuesday. I'm behind on everything (!!!) ... but, in my defense, I was preoccupied with Buddy's medical emergency this week. By the way, he's doing well today ... still somewhat tired (it was an ordeal for him, poor angel), but he's eating and even barking a little today; he's getting a little more energetic. Thanks again to everyone for your concern!

So now that I'm feeling relieved about Buddy, I'm getting back into "excitement mode" for CE! I'm SO filled with anticipation of all the fun and surprises that await! They don't call it "the ultimate scrapbooking indulgence" for nothing! It'll be a hoot to see how everyone incorporates the zebra-striped CE theme into their wardrobes this year ... I have lots of fun zebra-striped stuff to bring and/or wear too! I can't wait to show you while I'm in Arizona, so here's a sneak peek ... a pair of sandals (soon to be decorated with pink & green ribbons!) and a cosmetic bag that was a RAK from one of my CE pals. Such fun! :-)

OK, back to packing...

Buddy's home !!!

This afternoon I got a call from Buddy's oncologist ... she had the BEST possible news! His blood cell counts have come up (although they still have a little way to go) and his chest X-ray was "clear". That is, NO pneumonia and NO evidence of cancer in his lungs! Oh, it's a HAPPY day here! I went straight to the hospital and picked him up.

We're so excited to have our little Buddy home with us again! As expected, he is exhausted and is already sound asleep ... it has been quite a draining couple of days for all of us. So, lots of rest and pampering for him this weekend!

Aruba was thrilled to see him ... she was mopey and depressed the entire time he was in the hospital.

And it's so good to see him with an appetite again ... when we got home, I was even able to tempt him with his new favorite "chemo snack" --- carrots! (I had to snap the photo quickly ... he's fast!)

We love you Buddy!

Thanks for checking in on Buddy's progress,

Buddy update - Friday AM

Hi everyone and thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers for Buddy ... so appreciated!

I have good news!

His fever is gone ... his temperature was normal throughout the night!

And he's eating!

The doctor said that she'll be doing blood cell counts on him around 12 noon today ... she wanted to wait and give those more time to come up.

Also today, she will do chest X-rays to make sure that Buddy doesn't have pneumonia (which can develop with low blood cell counts), and to make sure that the lung cancer is remaining "quiet". Sal and I are SO nervous about this! We're hoping there's nothing wrong in Buddy's lungs. Please, no more tumors!

I'll be back here this afternoon with an update on our angel Buddy ... hopefully, he can come home today.