it's Dana's special day!

Happy 6th birthday today to our niece, Dana! She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

We wish you a FUN day full of SMILES, Dana !! :-)

Love,

Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

Well, just a handful of hours left in Hawaii now ... we're heading back to Florida on an overnight flight. And to help deal with the 11+ hours in the air, and to hopefully get some peaceful sleep, I finally bought a pair of these (I've been meaning to for a while, and Sal encouraged me to take the plunge while we were out shopping in Honolulu). I call them the "anti-coach", LOL !!

Now it's time to celebrate Christmas! Just like this fun surfin' Santa, dressed in his Hawaiian holiday finery -- an Aloha shirt and a lei ... cute!

Finally got rid of my cough after fighting it for nearly the entire trip, ugh! But, for the most part, I was able to enjoy our Hawaiian journey.

Now that I'm feeling better, there'll be lots of pics and details to come!

Mele Kelikimaka to you, which is "Merry Christmas" in Hawaiian, of course!

Aloha,

Susan

a room with a view

ALOHA !!

Forgive me for not posting sooner ... we've been in Hawaii for over a week, but ... I've been SICK for part of the time! Yes, such a bummer! {sigh} It seems that the leftover cough & congestion from my pre-Hawaii flu just won't let go of me. I'm sure that the 11-hour plane ride here didn't help either.....but I'm soldiering on with most of our plans because I love it here and want to savor it!

So, just today, I have a bit of energy to blog and finally begin to share our Hawaiian journey with you. I'll have to give all the details and pics later on when I'm feeling better, but for now ... we had a memorable and romantic belated 20th anniversary celebration at the Four Seasons Resort in Maui. Sal, you're the love of my life and my best friend !!!

And now we're in Honolulu (on Oahu) for Sal's chemistry conference.

He's attending Pacifichem 2010 and will be presenting his amazing research to chemists attending from all the Pacific Rim countries ... Japan, Korea, Fiji, Thailand, China, Malaysia, and many more. Congratulations, Sal !


Doesn't that look cool (and complicated, whew!)?

And here's the view from our room, on the 27th floor of the Rainbow Tower, way up in the Waikiki sky, here at the Hilton Hawaiian Village:


Pretty stunning, right? There's no App for this, LOL. And I LOVE the beauty combined with the sound of the ocean waves (yes, the sound carries way up here! ... so does the live music, but hey I can't complain). It all sure makes up for the disappointment of being sick while visiting one of my favorite places on the planet!

I'm missing Buddy & Aruba like crazy, but I'm hearing that they're being pampered (spoiled?) by Grandma & Grandpa! ;-)

I'm off to attend a hula show tonight while Sal attends conference sessions.

Thanks for stopping by.....

More soon,

it's Ruth's special day!

Happy birthday today to our sister-in-law, Ruth! She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

We wish you a FUN and MEMORABLE day, Ruth! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

island girl

I must really love Hawaii because I didn't at all mind taking a 4:00 AM airport shuttle! {yawn} But Hawaii is oh SO worth it! I'm indulging in a Starbucks peppermint mocha (yum) ... hoping the espresso in it will help wake me up!

I miss Buddy & Aruba already !! Sweet angels.... it's so hard to say good-bye to those precious faces. It's my least favorite part of travel, for sure. But they'll be having fun at their "resort" --- Grandma & Grandpa's house! Thanks Mom & Dad for all the TLC you give them!

Just wanted to share that right now I'm giddy ... I feel like a kid waiting to go to Disney World, LOL. :-)

Bring on Hawaii !!!

Aloha,
Susan

Where In The World ... have I been?

Wow, have I been M.I.A. from my blog lately, or what? I've missed blogging!

November was such a BLUR for me ... so busy with work, etc. ... it was so hard to keep up with everything because Sal and I were both fighting a nasty flu for several weeks! Neither of us could shake it! Thankfully, we're both (nearly) 100% recovered and the timing couldn't be better ... because we're off to The Land of Aloha soon!


I'm busting with excitement, I absolutely LOVE Hawaii !!! I've been anticipating this trip for months. Sal is attending a chemistry conference in Honolulu to present his incredible research. And we're extending the trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary (again) on Maui. We spent our actual anniversary day (back in August) on Amelia Island, but we want to celebrate this BIG occasion in a BIG (and super romantic) way!

Hope you'll join me here at Where In The World? as I share our journey across 4 of the magical Hawaiian islands.

Aloha,

it's Theresa's special day !

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

We wish you a day full of smiles and happy memories, Theresa! :-)

Love,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

Election Day!

Well, the day has finally arrived ... time to cast our votes! (and an end to all those back-to-back political ads, right?)

Sal and I have a tradition of going out for breakfast after we vote. Love that!

Please be sure to head to the polls today, make your voice heard. It's a right that I treasure!

trick or treat !!!

an escape worth remembering.....

Whoa, I have super FUN and EXCITING news to share!

I've registered for Creative Escape 2011 !!! {insert happy dancing here}

True, it's not until August, but I wanted to secure my seat, especially since this will be the FINAL Creative Escape event {boo hoo}.

So I'm a mix of SAD and GIDDY ... sad to see this incredible event end; after all, it is the "ultimate scrapbooking indulgence" and incorporates so many things that I enjoy (scrapbooking, friends, a fancy resort, spa time!, shopping, travel, non-stop fun and surprises) ... and I'm extra GIDDY because they said they'll be "pulling out all the stops" for this last CE, and I can't wait to see what that means!?!? The CE '11 theme is "worth remembering", and I'm sure that it will be!

And to my scrapbooking pals ===> see you in Arizona !! :-)

... 42 ...

Hey there! Hope you enjoyed the weekend?

I spent mine relaxing, enjoying my birthday! Seems like not long ago I was at my 40th birthday party, and now I'm a gal "in my forties", oh well. So I took an afternoon off to go to the spa ... I tried a new one ... and although I didn't love the spa facility itself (too noisy, not "tranquil" enough!), the massage was enjoyable. And although Sal has been sick with the flu (bummer!), we were able to spend some time together and celebrate a little bit.

And last week, the students who I work with in Sal's research lab thoughtfully surprised me with flowers, a balloon, and this DECADENT cake!

it's Sarah's special day!

Happy 7th birthday today to our niece, Sarah! She lives in Gulfport, Florida.

Have a FUN day, Sarah! :-)

Love,
Aunt Susan, Uncle Sal, Buddy & Aruba

World Animal Week

Hey there & happy Monday!

It's a new week, and an important one ... it's World Animal Week, an event celebrating the beauty of animals and bringing attention to worldwide animal suffering and the need for compassion.

Please take a moment this week to (re)consider the plight of animals in your life ... the companion animals in your home, the wild critters in your backyard, the abandoned awaiting homes at shelters, and those on your dinner plate.

And speaking of animals ... a member of the Save The Manatee Club (Terry Duncan) snapped this photo of a manatee "scratching" his back in shallow water! How precious is this? She has seen manatees in her area (near Daytona Beach, Florida) doing this from time to time. Who doesn't love a good back scratch, right? ;-)

Have a great week,

YAY for Buddy !!!

Fabulous news to share!

I took Buddy for a check-up at the cancer clinic today. Everything is FINE, he is doing so well !!! We are THRILLED and so THANKFUL !!!

His doctor and the staff were glad to see Buddy so happy, active, playful. So are we!

Buddy is an inspiration to others at the clinic ... today in the waiting room we met a Dog Mom and her pooch, who was just diagnosed with leukemia, and she was beginning treatments today. She was so encouraged for her dog after hearing Buddy's story of beating cancer, and was clearly touched.

We gleefully got our seatbelts on in the car (yep, Buddy wears one too!) and went home to CELEBRATE with Aruba & Sal !! Buddy & I were so emotionally exhausted from the stress, we both needed a nap.

And this was cool ... on the way to the clinic, I was behind a car sporting this message:

LOVE IT !!!

a weekend of celebration!

Hey there ... long time, no blog right? Life has been so busy lately ....

Hope you had a great weekend ... we spent ours with my family ... CELEBRATING my Mom's birthday (a little belated).

Mom & her gift bag ...

... and, as always, Buddy is right there to help her open her gifts (he LOVES presents and thinks they're all for him, so precious!)

As you can tell, he likes to be silly !!

We had some outdoor fun during the weekend too ... Sal and I took my parents' kayaks out for a spin at beautiful Indian Rock Beach (where the sand is SO soft and white!).

My Mom and I let Sal & my Dad bring the kayaks to the beach for launching ....
A couple of birds stopped by, apparently they wanted to go kayaking too!

We also had a relaxing picnik lunch at a park with this as our view -- complete with frolicking dolphins! --- a gorgeous day!

I even managed to get Aruba to look directly into the camera, that's so RARE !!! She and Buddy had tons of fun with "Grandma & Grandpa" !

We had buckets of rain during the drive home, but this was our reward when it let up ... a full-arch rainbow, stunning!

I'm still SO behind on some other events that I've meant to post here, way back from August, yikes! ... like our visit to St. Augustine, my Creative Escape Day 4, etc. Will get them up here soon!

Have a great week,

it's my Mom's special day !!

Happy birthday today to my Mom !!! She lives in Seminole, Florida.

Enjoy your day, Mom! We look forward to celebrating with you soon! :-)

We love you,

Susan, Sal, Buddy & Aruba

Creative Escape 2010: day 3

Hey there, hope you enjoyed the weekend? Geez, it went by SO fast, unreal !!

Finally ... I'm back ... ready to share "day 3" of my Creative Escape 2010 adventure. Thanks to all who've enthusiastically let me know that you're excitedly awaiting the details, I'm happy to share them!

So this brings me to Friday, the first day of CE classes. The day began with a delicious breakfast (the food served to us by the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort is phenomenal, btw!), which they begin serving as early as 6:00 AM if we want! (now you know why I was too tired/sleep-deprived to blog from Arizona, I was having fun from sunrise til the wee hours of the morning, LOL !!) Classes begin at 8:00 AM sharp, so that means an early AM wake-up.

But before I do a show-and-tell of the classes I feel compelled to mention the "drink stations" that are outside the classrooms ... all the soda (and ice!) you could possibly desire, including my fave, Dr. Pepper! We are so PAMPERED at CE!

My first class was with Claudine Hellmuth. Although she's primarily a collage artist, she taught us some amazing and fun techniques with paint (I love to play with colorful paints!) that we can apply to our scrapbooking craft. We made a "tile" with each different technique, and assembled the tiles onto a canvas to showcase our collective work of "art".
Me and Susan from Atlanta working on our canvas projects:

(In my Friday photos, you'll notice that I'm wearing a shirt that says "ESCAPE The Ordinary, CREATE the Extraordinary * AZ 2010" ... isn't that fabulous?!?!)

Next it was on to Pam Black's class ... we made a mini-album that's attached to a "display stand", meant for your desktop so that you can enjoy seeing the project/photos often!

It was filled with tons of cool techniques and details, and one that I especially loved was a "yo-yo flower" that we made from fabric (the polka dots). Oh so cute!

After a delicious lunch (and they never forget us vegetarians ... we were treated to a marinated vegetable wrap, yum!), it was on to class # 3 with Maggie Holmes. She gave a presentation on photography techniques for scrapbookers, and then we made a cute mini-album to compile all of our "fave photos":
And the surprises continued during Maggie's class with a visit from the Prize Patrol !!! The CE staff made unannounced visits to classrooms ... rolling in a cart of scrapbooking goodies to pass out to everyone, it's great fun!

My day of classes wrapped-up with my favorite scrapbooking teacher/designer, the ultra-talented and creative Heidi Swapp. We made a wall hanging, complete with ruffles and bling, with a mini-album attached to it via a binder mechanism. So you can just "flip" through memories anytime!
Notice the "ribbon roses" at the lower right corner of the project? We made them! Take 2 strips of ribbon (we used a shimmery organza fabric and a wispy tulle) and twist them together length-wise, then glue it down, an inch or two at a time, onto a piece of cardstock, all the while shaping it into a circle or "flower" shape. Add a pretty embellishment to the center and voila!, a ribbon rose, gorgeous! And simple! I must give a shout-out to the volunteers who were with my class group throughout the event ... so kind, and always assisting us with a smile!


Then there was a short break after classes to relax before being served a gourmet sit-down dinner! And of course, the veggie option was delish ... tofu enchiladas! (yes, only scrapbookers would photograph the food too!)

Another fun surprise during dinner was when I unexpectedly saw my friend (and former CE '09 teacher!) Debby Schuh walk by! Neither of us knew that the other was attending CE this year ... like me, she signed-up at the last-minute.
So after we devoured a gourmet cheesecake dessert, it was on to the Friday Extravaganza. We all reconvened with our class groups for an "extra project", plus more goodies, of course! We made a "Simply Imagine" hanging magnet board designed by Heidi Lynn Schreiber in the gorgeous event colors:


And while we were enjoying all of the Friday night festivities, the CE and hotel staff was busy delivering even MORE goodies to each of our rooms! What a TREAT to walk back into your hotel room, on the verge of collapse from all the fun, and see a pretty package of delights waiting on your bed! The gift included a stunning charm bracelet (with turquoise & black beads and silver hearts), a pad of cardstock, a magazine, a gourmet brownie, and custom-color, limited-edition glimmer mist made especially for CE in the event colors ("Navajo" turquoise for 2010, and "Piglet" pink and "Parakeet" green for the previous years)! So. Much. Fun. !!!! :-)
After the Friday evening CE festivites, the night wasn't over! Heidi and the gals from her digital scrapbooking design company, House of 3, aired their weekly webcast in front of a LIVE studio audience - us! Right from the Crop Room at CE !! It was quite exciting! And the excitement grew for me and my friend Susan from Atlanta when Heidi called me and her up to be LIVE ON CAMERA (!!!) and talk about CE, whoa! We were stunned and nervous and thrilled all at once! You can watch a recording of the webcast HERE ... Heidi invites us to join her on-camera about 5 minutes into the broadcast, if you want to fast-forward past all the CE giddiness, LOL !! Did you check out the funky GIGANTIC balloons decorating the CE Crop Room? I think they were about 3 feet in diameter!

As I've said, CE is NON-STOP fun !!! :-)

I'll be back soon with the 4th and final day of CE goodness, and my farewell to Arizona. Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week,