If you are looking for the Heritage Makers info, please scroll down one post.

I finally have time to play “tag”.  My friend Amy Bleser had the audacity to tag me so nicely tagged me on her blog, and here are my answers:

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
What do you mean by searched?  (Kidding!)

2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster?
Um, I have no idea.  I do NOT get on roller coasters.  However, I DO close my eyes when I watch other people I love on roller coasters.  It sort of makes the “watching” difficult, but whatever gets me through the trauma…

3. When’s the last time you’ve been sledding?
I was probably 13 or 14?  I lived in Nebraska for almost 8 years where it snowed regularly, but where everything was flat as a pancake.  The kids could sled on little hills here and there, but not adults.  At least not adults who want to have all their bones in tact.

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
I would rather have a GREAT big bed, so I could sleep with Allan, yet have PLENTY of room to myself if I wanted it.

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
I’m not really sure.  I believe in the possibility, but haven’t actually ever met one.

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Yes, although I wish I had more talent to go with the creative juices. 

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Absolutely

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? (silly, I know … but very “now”)
Jennifer, totally. 

9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Well, I know President Bush is a Republican.  Is that enough to qualify?

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Barely.  I’d need to have it all explained to me again if I were to sit down and try to play.

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
I was awake for close to 48 hours in the hospital after having lil Allan.  Between the medication, pain, intensity of emotion, adrenaline, and the noises in the hospital, I couldn’t sleep.  I was close to hallucinating before I finally got sleep, and WOW was I happy to go home!

12. What’s your favorite commercial?
I honestly don’t watch enough TV to have a favorite. 

13. Who was your first love?
Um, not saying, cause he doesn’t know, and I’d hate for him to google his name and find it here!  But his initials are ADP. 

14. If you’re driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
No

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
I can’t think of anything, so I guess no

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Well, I’m not much into football or any kind of sports, so I’d have to say neither.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
No, although I would like to try. 

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
I remember them about half the time.  It all depends on how I wake up, and since my kids have a tendency to yank me out of a deep sleep, I don’t remember as often as I used to.

19. What’s the one thing on your mind?
One thing?  One thing?  You’ve got to be kidding!  I don’t have enough blog room to list the things on my mind.

20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes.

21. What talent do you wish you had?
I wish I could sing well. 

22. Do you like Sushi?
I’ve never had it, but I’m guessing I’d hate it.

23. What do you wear to bed?
Usually a t-shirt, or a tank top

24. Do you truly hate anyone?
No – there are a few I strongly dislike and have issue with, but no hate here

25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
I can’t imagine sleeping with anyone other than Allan.  Maybe someday he’ll be famous?

26. Do you know anyone in jail?
Not currently

27. What food do you find disgusting?
Okra and liver

28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Probably as a kid… but not often enough to even remember!

29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
Slapped silly, yes… punched, no

30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
Absolutely.  And I believe they are in constant war around us. 

Whew!  I have no idea who to tag next, cause I’m super boring that way.  Oh well…

I totally need to write a post about the fabulous Bridal Show this last weekend. It was awesome on so many levels, and I am still spinning a little bit from the excitement and the possibilities.  But today’s post is about something else – a new venture.  (Because, really.. I just didn’t have enough to do in a day…and I needed another job/business opportunity to keep me from getting bored.. hahahahahahahahaha..cough, cough..eh..eh.. ok, I’m all right now!)

In all seriousness, I have found a new business opportunity, and I have to share!  If you are a digital scrapbooker, or have contemplated becoming one, or have no idea how to become one but love the idea of sharing your stories and your children’s stories, and SAVING them in a way that will last for generations… then you have to read about Heritage Makers.

Heritage Makers offers library-bound, top quality printed books.  The books are written/designed/scrapbooked/created by YOU.  You can log in to their site, upload your pictures, and create an 8×8 or 12×12 scrapbook in no time.  And while it’s easy to use now…it’s only going to get easier!  The company is in the beta process right now with a new and improved software that will allow for true digi-scrappin.  Templates, backgrounds, elements, alphas… it all will be included!  For those of you who are just getting started, or WANT to get started – this is the way to go.  No buying expensive software, no learning curve.  Easy, drag and drop, walk you through the process, upload through your browser kind of stuff.  I’ve seen the beta, and it looks good! And for those of you who are veteran digi-scrappers – this company has a lot to offer you too!  You can literally upload your layouts in jpg format, order them in the book as you like, click BUY NOW, and in 2 weeks – you’ll have a LIBRARY BOUND, STITCHED book!  These books are fabulous, and I can’t wait to get the first of mine in the mail.  And from what I’ve heard.. there is only more GOOD stuff coming. 

Ok, hard-sell over!  (Actually, I’m just TOTALLY excited, not really meaning to hard-sell anyone). 

So.. interested in this at all?  Check out http://www.digiscrapbookprints.com/ – this is my personal Heritage Makers independent consultant site and you can view all the products, try out the software, etc. 

If you ARE interested in making a book, please, please contact me before you sign up!  I am going to be running a “virtual party” for the next week, and if you want to “attend” and purchase a book (just send me an email – char@digiscrapbookprints.com, and you are part of the party!), I can get you set up with an account, and the $19.95 publishing set-up fee is WAIVED! 

Oh, oh.. and if you really want to get going, there is a “Christmas in July” sale going on right now.  Buy four books, get the fifth one free! That’s a HUGE value!  And… if you have any interest in getting started as a consultant, they have an AWESOME incentive right now.  If you sign up before July 31st, and purchase the Demo kit, you’ll get a FREE 12×12 book AND a FREE 8×8 book!

Ok, I’m REALLY done now!

 

So, the Bridal Show is tomorrow night, but what have I been up to?  Scrappin, scrappin… but not layouts of my kids!  I’ve got a few fun projects in the works, and since Mom is in town, I took the opportunity to get something done – uninterupted by the kiddos!  (Yay Mom!)  So, do you want to see?  Sure you do!

Ok, that’s a pretty jumbled preview, but I didn’t want to give it ALL away too soon!  Things are pretty crazy with the Bridal Show, and an upcoming visit to CA, but hopefully I’ll have an announcement about these new products very soon!

I wonder if Mom will let me sit at my computer for THREE days in a row?  I guess I’ll find out!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that in January I was a vendor for the very first time at a bridal show here in Las Vegas.  Well, imagine that… six months has gone by in a FLASH, and it’s time again for another show!  Mom arrived a couple of days ago, and we’ve been busy wrapping gum and getting everything together for the booth.  It’s been a THOUSAND times easier to pull it together, since we did a super job packing up everything from the last show.  We essentially had to print a stack of flyers, print the 1000 wrappers for gum we’re giving out, and then wrap that 1000 sticks.  Oh yes, and print stuff for the door prize basket, and a few new samples I wanted to include in the booth. 

I found out YESTERDAY that the producers of the bridal show are marketing pretty heavily to the Hispanic population in LV, with emphasis on Quinceaneras.  We have a pretty large percentage of Hispanics here, something like 25 or 30% at least, so it should be interesting to see how many moms and daughters show up to see all the vendors.  They are going to have a fashion show at the end of the bridal fashion show, and there are 10 local girls who will be modeling the dresses.  I learned a lot about the tradition of Quinceaneras yesterday as I was contemplating wrapper designs. 

In other news, I’ve been working behind the scenes with Amy Bleser on a few projects.  Our first collab project is a CD with full-size wedding wrapper designs, easily customizable and printable for folks who want to do all the work themselves.  We will be selling the CD at the Bridal show, and on the HeavenlyPromises.com website.  It will hopefully be listed on the site by Friday. 

We also have several more projects and fun things in the works, so stay tuned over the next few weeks as we plan to unveil more collab projects! 

Ok, off to finish Bridal show preparations!

 

 

 

Yea… so much for keeping up with my blog!  We decided to follow the two and a half week vacation with a ROLLER COASTER ride.  A ride that started with finding out what we can afford to buy in a house (good news: more than we thought), and a ride that ended with offers on two homes rejected, and a new game plan.  The ride lasted 6 days, and oh. my. word.  I’m tired!

Like I said, the good news is that we qualify for more than we expected.  (We can actually get more than WE think we can afford).  Unfortunately, although everyone keeps saying it’s a buyer’s market, we found TWO sellers who didn’t get the memo.  The first seller wasn’t willing to budge ONE inch.  He wanted his listing price, and didn’t want to pay any of the closing costs.  After that door slammed shut, we started thinking about property #2, and realized it was actually better in most ways.  So, second offer……. rejected!  Well, it was countered, kind of (a budge of TWO inches), but the counter offer was $10,000 more that what we offered.  And it was a FIRM counter.  Bummer, and a half.

We spent 14 agonizing hours trying to decide how much we really needed for groceries every month, and wondering if Allan and I truly need to eat EVERY day.  (Yes, we’d feed the children every day, but what if Allan and I traded off days?)  Ultimately we decided that yes, we’d like to eat every day, and so no… we better not buy the second house.

We learned a lot.  We’re encouraged about the future, and the house we’ll someday find to live in.  We’ve got a game plan for paying off the last little bit of debt (oops, that vacation was expensive!), and saving as much as possible, and then looking again after the first of the year.  We’re prayerful that interest rates won’t go up TOO much.  And… we still live in a 2 bedroom apartment.  4 out of 5 isn’t bad! 

And the cliche is really true… home is where the heart is!  Or, home is where my husband and children are.  We’re happy, we’re all healthy, we have a roof over our head, and an A/C to keep us cool here in Vegas.  And I don’t have to pack any boxes just yet.  Someday!

 

I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks, because we’ve been on vacation. (I don’t like to publicize the fact that we will be out of town, which is the reason I left no warning).  We had a fabulous time in Colorado and Nebraska.  I’m so glad we got a chance to go, and I’m also really glad to be home!

If you aren’t a digi-scrapper, this won’t be that exciting to you, but I’m SO excited to be a part of Amy Bleser’s new creative team.  She is a wonderful friend, extraordinary designer, and fabulous scrapper.  We have had so much fun in the last few months, chatting and scrapping together – and just a couple of weeks ago, she was accepted as a designer at Sweet Shoppe Designs.  She has put together a great team of ladies to scrap with her designs, and I am looking forward to hanging, chatting, scrapping, and having fun with “Amy’s Angels”.

In other scrap news, I’ve done a few layouts since we got home.  You can see them at my gallery, at the top of the ”latest uploads” list.  I have several others started, including Samuel on a horse, Samuel on a bike, and Samuel on a train.  (Ok, that sounds like the plot for a fun children’s book!)   I also have some fun lil Allan pictures to scrap, as well as “the cousins” layouts to do.  I took about 400 pictures on the trip, so I’ll be scrappin for awhile!  Check back in a few days for more!

I know I have a ton of other news to share still, but I need to get work done too, so the last bit of news for today…… guess what lil Allan is doing.. finally.. after FOURTEEN months of life?  He is going to bed at a reasonable hour like 8 p.m., and sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If you are new to this blog, you have no idea how incredible that is.  We have spent 14 months trying to get him to this point, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have BOTH my boys in bed at 8:30 p.m.! 

Ok, more later!