Fun iTunes Quiz

The Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter what.

Here we go.....

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Suite of Dreams" by WDW Magic in the Streets Parade

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Grown Men Don't Cry" by Tim McGraw

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"How Can I Tell You" by David Young

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Walk Like a Man by Tim McGraw (really???)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
I'm N Luv by T-Pain (I don't even know how this got on my iPhone)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
She Still Thinks I Care by James Taylor

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Make You Happy by Celine Dion

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Sin Wagon by Dixie Chicks (HA! That's funny)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
What a Wonderful World by Celine Dion

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Love Stoned by Justin Timberlake

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Here I Come by Fergie

Reduced prices/sets for sale

Check here for the reduced prices on the sets I have for sale.

Merry Cricut Christmas!

Guess who got a Cricut for Christmas? I hope to get some time to play very soon....

Merry Christmas!

Have a nice, relaxing Christmas!

I just mounted three new sets that I hope to post pictures of after Christmas! Two of them are from the NEW catalog and there are two more on the way!

Just for Fun...and totally not stamping related...

This is my *very* favorite commercial....ever. Every time I see this commercial, I can't help but to start jammin'. My kids love it too and always take a peek to make sure I'm dancing. :)
The link below doesn't do justice compared to the real commercial on t.v., because the music doesn't quite line up with the dancin'. Watch for it on t.v.!

Click here to see Michele's favorite commercial

Have a great Christmas!

I did it!

Today I graduated with my Master's in Literacy Education from Northern Illinois University! WooHoo!

How can I be so happy and sad all at the same time? While I am glad to be done with all of the work, I will *miss* my friends that I've spent the last three years with. I think it finally just hit me...I'm done!

Extended...Wrapping Up the Holidays

Did you miss the Wrapping Up the Holidays special the first time around? Lucky you...the time frame has been extended until the end of December!

Pink and Wasabi Christmas Card

I knew right away that I wanted my Christmas card to be pink and green. I saw some in the gallery at SCS and saved a few favorites. After changing the layout a thousand times, this is what I ended up with.

Sets for sale...REDUCED PRICES

As of 12/30, here is what is left. I erased the photos of what is already gone...

Here we go...All sets will be shipped in a flat-rate priority mail envelope for $4.60. I'm sorry, but I don't have extra envelopes and packaging around the house to mail them otherwise. I will combine shipping if you buy more than one set. I accept PayPal and all credit cards.

Scribbles $10 NOW $8


Block (Open Check Frame) Background $6 NOW $4


Quilt Background (Wood Cellar Graphics) $6 NOW $4


Rocking Chair (A Day in the Country-Diane Marcum) $6 NOW $4


Stripes Background $8 NOW $6



Stars Background (Penny Black) $8 NOW $6


Bold Check Frame Background $8 NOW $6


Burst Into Bloom $8 NOW $6


Borders Mini $8 NOW $6

BIG ANNOUNECEMENTS!

Today was the highly anticipated announcement of the Stampin' Up! retired list! Click on the list above for a bigger version, or email me at michlz319@yahoo.com and I'll send one to you. These stamp sets are available until January 1st. The new catalog starts on January 2nd!

A few surprises for me on the list....Headline Alphabet...Letterpress Alphabet...Monogram Letters...Monkey Business...Double Line Doodles....Looks Like Spring...

Now, I have to decide what I *have* to have before then....AND today is the first day demonstrators can pre-order from the Preview catalog. Decisions, decisions...I have to have the A Little Birdie Told Me set and maybe the Happy Heart Day too! As a demonstrator, I get 20% off of these sets normally, but we are also getting an extra 15% off of just the sets out of the Preview. Stampin' Up! gives us this great deal so that we order these sets to show YOU when the new catalog is released. :)
Here is the A Little Birdie Told Me set:

AND....big announcement #2...more specials for YOU!
Click on the flyer for more details. :)

Just Breathe...

This is my mom's first name! She made this for her boss's birthday. Her boss is a doctor and always uses this saying. She came over and we stamped the letters, chose the paper and talked about some possible layouts and embellishments. I sent her off to make the frame and this is what she came up with! Pretty darn good, huh? Sorry for the bad photo! I took it in the garage on a rainy day. All stamps, ink and paper are from Stampin' Up! Won't you leave my mom a nice comment? THANKS!

Redeux 2

This is the weekend of do-overs...

I originally made this card and was happy the first time. Then when I went to give it to my son's teacher for her birthday, it just didn't seem "done". I added the turquoise ribbon, the Eggplant Envy scallop punch and a little glitter around the edge of the big flower. Much better...

Happy Harvest...Take 2

Here's the second version (and better, I think) of my Autumn Harvest (Stampin' Up!) Thanksgiving card. Here's the original. I took off the little punch tab label and added some designer paper instead. Then I slapped on a couple eyelets with my favorite Crop-a-Dile and voila! Much better. All materials are Stampin' Up! except for the plaid designer paper, which I got at Michael's.
I still don't quite think I am as talented as the normal population with the blender pen...I still like the way it turned out.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The 6-year-old boy makes me stamp...

I was supposed to be finishing up some work stuff tonight, but ACK! I forgot my memory stick there, so I couldn't. This puts me WAY behind for tomorrow....

My son says tonight, "Mom, tomorrow is Mrs. Smith's birthday. Can you make her a card?" I thought, "Aww...how cute!" It gets better. When we go downstairs to make the card, he says, "Mom, can you make her a notebook?" He must *really* like her! So, at 8:30 p.m., I start making this composition notebook.

I love making these notebooks. I have two of them myself and I have made several others. The best part is that I bought about 50 of them last year for $0.12 at Target on clearance. :)

All the supplies are from Stampin' Up! except for the brown ribbons along the edge and the other on the 'k'. :)

I'll post the card I made for her and my Thanksgiving cards over the weekend!

Also, I got to stop at my favorite local stamp store today on the way home from a meeting. I bought a bunch of stuff I didn't need including this WAY cute paper from BoBunny that has kids' Christmas letters on it. I thought it will make a cute background for my kids' Christmas letters with little pockets or envelopes or something!

Finally!

In exactly one month, I will have finally graduated from NIU with my Master's In Literacy with a Reading Specialist's certificate. Whew. It's been three long, but unbelievable years! These past few months have been crazy with assignments, presentations and action research. These next two weeks will wrap it all up and then finally, I'll be back to my life!
In the meantime, some of you who are my customers may have wondered where I have been with my classes....
I promise you that classes will be back on the calendar right after the holidays and there will be more time for workshops. I miss having people over!

To jump start the new year and the new catalog...

• The first person to schedule an at-home workshop (your house or mine) after January 2nd will be rewarded with 3 free adhesive runners in addition to the regular hostess benefits.
• The first 5 people to join the 6 month $25 buyer's club will also be rewarded with 3 free adhesive runners. The new buyer's club will run from January through June.
  
• Not ready to join a buyer's club, but you want a catalog? Call me to pre-order yours before December 10th for $7 and get 3 free adhesive runners.
  

Class suggestions? Let me know!

Posh Puppies

I made this scrapbook page for my parents. They have two spoiled Maltese dogs named Maggie and Abbey.
A few years ago, I started a scrapbook for my mom and dad. Every so often, maybe on a holiday, I add a page to their book. I added a family tree page, a page on how they met, and various photos of family, etc. Friday was their wedding anniversary, so I made this page of their precious poochies. I will write the dog's names on the black and pink tags, which I thought looked kind of like a dog tag. Since the doggies are so hard to tell apart, I wanted to be sure which one was which before I wrote the names!
I apologize for the crooked photo shot. The page is heavy with the embellishments and just wouldn't cooperate!

Stamps:
So Very (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:
Whisper White Craft (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock:
Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)
Pink Passion (Stampin' Up!)

Designer Paper:
from Archiver's

Embellishments:
Rhinestones (Stampin' Up!)
Star jewel

Tools:
Tag punch (Stampin' Up!)
Scallop punch (Stampin' Up!)
circle punches (Stampin' Up!)

C r A z Y K i T t Y!

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A BETTER VIEW...look at his cute little C r A z Y face

It felt *so* good to get downstairs and get stamping again. I thought I had lost my MOJO. It was late one night...all the kids were in bed, husband was asleep on the couch, so I went downstairs and stared at a big mess on the tables. Cardstock, ink, punches, scraps, stamps....oh it was a mess! I had been trying to work out another card that was just not cooperating. So, I cleaned up the entire mess, put away all the supplies and started over with my pretty, pretty new square Amuse cards.
Now, I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I *love* Stampin' Up! But, this kitty was just calling out my name. I ended up at the LSS after a work meeting one day. It's not very close to my house and it was only a few blocks from the meeting.
I had to have him. He's got this one gigantic CrAzY eye and the other one is this little dot. I didn't know what I would do with him but brought it home anyway. The square notecard color just isn't justified in this photo, but it is a GORGEEOUS mango color. It matches up *almost* perfectly with Stampin' Up!'s Apricot Appeal cardstock, which is the layer under kitty. I tried several punches and layers until this one was just right...circles, squares, ovals....I ended up stamping in clear VersaMark and then embossing with black. To top it all off, I colored in his little ears, nose and mouth with marker. This little coloring made a HUGE difference in the way the card looked.
I think I'll let my kids take these to their teacher's and maybe I'll give a few away at work. I love the simplicity of this and how cute it turned out. Still debating on the ribbon....

Here are the "deets"....

From Amuse:

• Mango polka-dot square notecards, pkg. of 10

From Penny Black:

• "Black Cat" rubber stamp
  

From Stampin' Up:

• Basic Black cardstock
• Apricot Appeal cardstock
• Basic Black Classic ink
• Whisper White cardstock
• 1 3/8 square punch
• Trick or Treat stamp set (retired)
• VersaMark
• Black embossing powder
• Pretty in Pink marker
  

Sorry....I cannot remember who makes the large square scallop punch....it's lavender in color and is either "Giga" or "Mega" in size. I'll update when my lazy rear can get off the couch and down to the basement.

Holiday Glitz Promotion

"One of my favorite things about this card kit is all the cutting and measuring is already done for me. All I need to do is stamp, adhere the pieces together, and sign and label my cards. I can easily have my holiday cards completed in an evening!"



October 1-while supplies last

Make your holiday cards glitzy this year with a little help from the Holiday Glitz card kit. With our precut card stock and Designer Series paper, festive zigzag ribbon, and Rhinestone brads, spreading handmade holiday cheer has never been this easy!

Each Holiday Glitz card kit makes 15 handmade cards and includes:

• Precut card stock and Designer Series paper (15)
• Whisper White Envelopes (15)
• Rhinestone brads (15)
• Real Red zigzag ribbon (15)
• Full-color instruction sheet (1)

There are two ways to take advantage of this fantastic kit while supplies last:

1. Purchase one of holiday stamp sets (below) and get the Holiday Glitz card kit for the special price of $24.95, or
2. Purchase the Holiday Glitz card kit for $28.95 with no additional purchase required.

Qualifying stamp sets include:

Item	Stamp Set	Price
109234	Snowfall	$23.95
106786	The Snowflake Spot	$20.95
109266	Big on Christmas	$18.95
110359	Love & Joy*	$23.95

* Holiday Mini Collection 2007

Happy Harvest

I made this simple card over the weekend to prepare for the Fall Card Buffet. This card will be one of the four cards that you can make on World Card Making Day at my event. I love the stamped image of the pumpkins. Instead of straight, drawn lines, they are kind of "scribbled". I used my watercolor pen and the ink lifted off of the top of the ink pad lid. I'm not a fabulous watercolorer, but I think this turned out pretty nice. The card needed to be simple so that we can make several of them in a short amount of time during the Card Buffet.

At the class, you'll have the opportunity to make this card, in addition to three others (Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving). Let me know if you'd like to come!

Stamps:
Autumn Harvest (Stampin' Up mini catalog)
Loads of Love

Ink/Cardstock:
Chocolate Chip cardstock
Timber Brown Stazon
Pumpkin Pie cardstock
Pumpkin Pie Stazon ink
Very Vanilla cardstock

Goodbye, Old Friend

UPDATED 11-15-07 We still have Jack. After speaking with Linda at SecondHand Shelties, we are trying some different natural remedies. She knows how much we do not want to give Jack up. Additionally, we have brought a new Weimaraner puppy named Emmett into our home. Jack and Emmett play together and we really think that Emmett has helped by keeping Jack busy and not licking! We also have taken Jack off of his weekly allergy injections. After a year and a half of shots, we decided that they were just not working. So as of now, he's on steroids, Vitamin E, Fish Oil, Dogzymes and another dog powder added to his food. He's growing back some hair and isn't itching. We'll see how this all plays out in a couple weeks.
p.s. There's a picture of Emmett below. :)


Today is a sad day. We are putting our dog, Jack, into a rescue home. We've had Jack for almost 5 years. About 2 years ago, he started losing the hair on all four legs and itching. After unsuccessfully trying natural remedies and a food trial, we found out that he is allergic to grass, trees and other stuff. He's a dog...how can he be allergic to grass? I've been giving him allergy injections every week at home for over a year, in addition to steroids and Benadryl several times a day. He's still itching ferociously and is just miserable. We cannot keep up with the $120 shots, plus recurrent infections. He licks and gets open sores, so he gets infected. Once we get him cleared up, he's still licking so the vicious circle continues. We just can't keep up with it any more.

He is the sweetest dog ever. He is the best dog we've ever had. He listens. He sits when you tell him to. (OK, he barks every time someone opens the garage or rings the doorbell....he's gotta have one flaw.) I love when I'm on the couch and he just jumps up and lays his head on my lap. He looks at you with the sweetest eyes. Now when he looks at me though, I imagine he's saying, "Don't give up on me." It is so hard to push the emotion aside to see the reality of what we can realistically do for him.

The hardest thing now is waiting for a home to come available. The lady at the rescue organization has been great. Each day I wake up, I think, "Is this going to be his last day with us?" In some ways, I pray NO. Other days, I think...."Please, let this be over with so I can go on." See, now I'm crying again. I know, I know....he's a dog.

Today I had to sign release forms at the vets office so that they could send Jack's records to the rescue organization. I had called them ahead of time, so I wouldn't have to explain the situation in front of everyone there. When I arrived, the lady knew exactly who I was (maybe the teary, red, puffy eyes were a clue). She gave me the paper, I signed it and she said she'd take care of it right away. It was *so* hard to see all the people there with their dogs knowing that I was there completing yet another step to giving permission to give my dog away. I walked out bawling.

I've been hard to live with for the past week. (OK, maybe I'm always hard to live with, but this week has been especially bad.) I know this is the right decision, and someone else will have the time to take care of all of the special needs he has. But still, I love this silly dog and I feel guilty that I can't make this work. Hopefully by banging out these words, it will help me come to more peace. As of right now though, I'm crying again. I do have a scrapbook page dedicated to him that I made the first week we got him. I'll share it on another day.

Thanks for listening to my story.

Cards, Cards, Cards! Photos galore!

I joined a New Catalog Swap on SCS in July. These are the cards I got back. I love swaps. This one was cool because instead of getting all cards back from one set or one color scheme, it was just a general swap. I got back lots of different cards from a variety of stamp sets. This is particularly nice, because I can show off examples from sets that I don't own. (Well, now that I have great card examples, I have to buy the sets of course!) I love the different styles and color combinations of all of the cards! Email me if you need to know the colors or stamps on any of these cards. :) Click on the cards for a larger example. Happy stamping!

Fall Swaps

I joined a pink and brown swap on SCS. I *LOVE* pink and brown! I decided to use Stampin' Up!'s Polka Dots and Paisley stamp set since the paisely paper worked so well. I am mailing them off in a few days....I'll post photos of what I get back in October. I will also be posting photos from my "New Catalog Swap" later tonight.

Stamps:
Polka Dots and Paisley
Stampin' Around Jumbo Petals

Cardstock and Ink:
Pretty in Pink
Chocolate Chip

World Card Making Day

Join me for a Fall Card Buffet on World Card Making Day! We'll be using the Autumn Harvest set from the new mini catalog. See the post below for all the details! I hope to see you there!

See that long, blank, outline of a rectangle up above? Yeah.....that's supposed to be a graphic. Don't know what is going on. You can still click it and it will take you to the World Card Making site! I'm a *way* better stamper than blogger. :)

Fall Buffet Class

It's World Card Making Day!

Come and make as many cards as you like using the new Autumn Harvest set!(page 21 of the Fall-Winter Mini). You will be able to make Fall, Thanksgiving or Halloween cards using this set…you decide which cards and how many!! Everything will be cut and ready for you….

Cost: 4 cards for $8; 8 cards for $15
Date: Saturday Oct. 6
Time: 10:00-12:00
R.S.V.P: Sept. 30

Matt+Krissie

Totally not stamping related......One of my very good friends got engaged on Saturday. Her fiance, Matt, is a writer and this is his documentation of the day....I had to share it. Besides the actual "asking of the big question", the 11:00 time frame is my favorite...read on...

"Statue of Liberty play. It only works once, don't throw it away."

That slightly obscure song lyric was rolling around in my head a lot the past two weeks, and not because football season is starting. No, rather, as many of you reading this know by now, something fairly monumental happened to me Saturday night. I got engaged. If you're a random person who's somehow reading this and you're curious who the girl is, her name is Krissie. She's easy to find on my page.

Anyway, the feeling of this happening after 30 years – the majority of which were spent doubting if it ever would happen – was just amazing. I'm thrilled. And the aftermath has convinced me beyond a doubt that this was the right decision. Krissie's parents suggested that I write up my memories of the big day to preserve them, and I thought that was a great idea. I feel a tad self-indulgent doing this, but I guess this is an excusable time to be a little self-indulgent. So here are, from my point of view, the pivotal hours of August 25, 2007, as well as I can remember them:

10:00 a.m. – Several hours before Krissie and I are to attend an outdoor concert at the Morton Arboretum, I'm keeping her company in the cafeteria of her elementary school, where she and three other teachers are testing kindergartners for placement. She's not going to be done until noon, which gives me a perfect window of time to duck away for a bit. I tell her I'm going to Borders to look for a football book I want. This is a half-truth. There is a new football book I want, and I do hope to go to Borders, but only if time permits. First, I have a couple of more important errands to run.

10:10 a.m. – I park my car outside Krissie's parents' house. They have no idea what I plan on doing, and I wouldn't feel right about it without telling them first. I realize that this task is perhaps even more nervewracking than asking Krissie herself, and has much less potential to truly satisfy me. If it goes well, I still haven't gotten a "yes" from the one who matters most. If it goes poorly, that could potentially be almost as bad as a "no." I ring the doorbell. No answer. Attempt No. 2 also brings no answer. This is not good. I get back into my car and call Krissie's mother's cell phone, and then I'm in luck. Both parents sound surprised, but supportive. I have a nice conversation with each for about 20 minutes, and with that errand successful, I head to the store.

11:00 a.m. – No, not Borders. Jewel-Osco. The supermarket. I rush in for two items – a dozen red roses and some Ziploc bags. I figure the easiest way to get rose petals is from actual roses. Maybe I'm totally naïve about this, but it was the best way I knew, and men don't like to ask. I sit outside on the curb in front of the supermarket, and begin picking every last petal off those dozen roses, cramming the petals into three Ziploc bags. A girl walks by while I'm doing this and says, "I have no idea what you are doing, but seeing that is going to make me smile the rest of the day." I tell her I'm planning on proposing to my girlfriend that night and using the petals. Her reaction (the sort of "awwww" reaction that girls always give for anything of this sort) gives me a little mental boost that I'm on the right track. This might actually work.

12:30 p.m. – Krissie and I arrive at her house, after she has finished her testing. A weary Krissie eventually heads to bed to nap, while I head for the living room TV to see if there's anything on that can take my mind off things. That's no easy task. My stomach has been in knots for most of the last 10 days, I've been having trouble sleeping because of how nervous I am, nobody has known about this, and now it's only worse. I eventually settle on an ABC Family broadcast of The Karate Kid. Not a bad choice, since it's upbeat and I don't have to concentrate on it much. Plus, the song "Glory Of Love" from the second Karate Kid movie absolutely has to be played at my wedding. For today, I simply must convince myself that I'm the best around. Nothing's gonna ever keep me down.

2:40 p.m. – We leave for Morton Arboretum. I am carrying an engagement ring and the three Ziploc bags of rose petals in my pants pockets (along with my wallet and keys), but the pants are baggy enough that it's not obvious. And yes, I chose these pants on purpose. It's all in the details.

3:05 p.m. – We arrive at Morton Arboretum. The concert doesn't start until
6:00, but Krissie wants to get prime spots on the lawn to see Josh Kelley and Sister Hazel (well, really just Josh Kelley. Neither of us care one way or the other about Sister Hazel, a band that had one cheesy hit in 1997). We settle in for a long wait in some blazing sun and humidity, but we keep our spirits up.

4:50 p.m. – Twenty minutes later than expected, they finally begin letting ticket holders onto the concert lawn. I run about as fast as I can while carrying a portable chair, and the two of us stake out some prime real estate. The lawn seats 4,000, but we're dead center and maybe 50 feet from the stage. The wait was worth it. I get our dinner sandwiches from a tent, and eat mine despite the fact that I don't feel like eating. Despite being a nervous wreck inside, I don't think Krissie can tell. I mean, I lied about going to Borders (totally unlike me) this morning, and now this. I want my Oscar.

6:10 p.m. – The concert begins, and circumstances throw me a curveball. We expected Josh Kelley to headline, but in an inexplicable piece of scheduling, he takes the stage first. Plus, the atmosphere on the concert lawn is tightly packed and loud. I'd originally envisioned proposing during a romantic Josh Kelley song towards the end of his set, but that won't work now for multiple reasons. It's too loud and crowded to make a marriage proposal on the concert lawn anything but a terrible idea, plus I'd feel a little weird not letting Krissie watch all of Josh Kelley's set. She's waited months for this show. Kelley is a somewhat mellow, pop-soul singer/songwriter type – not my usual cup of tea, but pleasant enough, and the fact he can play all the instruments on stage and perform well live makes him likeable to me. Krissie is enjoying the show immensely, while I'm pretending to relax but doing nonstop scheming for how on earth I'm going to pull this off. She catches my eyes wandering around the perimeter of the lawn a few times, and she's wondering why I'm doing that. I have no explanation, but at least she's surely not thinking "marriage proposal." Kelley will play for an hour-and-a-half, and in that time I need to come up with a plan that will work. If it doesn't go the way I hoped, I will never get this chance back again in my lifetime. Plus there will need to be at least some mild element of trickery involved. Statue of Liberty play. It only works once, don't throw it away.

7:35 p.m. – Finishing his set in unorthodox manner with a highly impressive drum solo, Josh Kelley leaves the stage. I reach into my pocket, grab a handful of rose petals, place the petals in Krissie's hand and grip it. "Let's go for a walk," I tell her. She questions me, but I insist on taking a walk in between acts just to get a couple of minutes of peace and quiet. I lead her through the crowds, all the way out the back corner of the concert lawn. We keep going until I find a cluster of trees with some grass in front of it, and the sky behind me. The sun has just set but the clouds are still golden, and in front of the trees nobody else can see us. We are within earshot of the stage, yet alone. Standing there, I tell Krissie how she's my favorite girl I've ever met, how she means more to me all the time, all the while sprinkling rose petals onto her shoulders. She has waited a long time, but I tell her the wait ends tonight. I kneel, take the ring out of my pocket, and ask her to marry me.

The ring is a princess cut diamond set on top of a white gold ring with a pair of emerald-cut sapphire sidestones. Krissie told me once, months ago, that a ring like this was her favorite she'd ever seen (years ago with her best friend), although she didn't honestly believe she'd ever actually get one. I kept her description in my memory bank, and tried to find a ring that matched what she remembered. I can only hope I got it right, but even if I didn't, the ring looks good.

Krissie is shocked by what is happening. Because of that, she pauses for a second or two. For me it feels like 10 minutes, because so much of my future is riding on the way she reacts. But the pause ends, and she nods her head and lets a faint "yes" out of her mouth. I slip the ring on her finger and the size 5 fits.
I stand back up, we both burst into tears and we give each other one fantastic, indescribable hug. This is the most pure, spontaneous, perfect bit of absolute exhilaration I have ever experienced. It's as if all the bad experiences I've had with girls in the past, all the disappointment and the lying and the being treated like garbage and the three decades of frustration now strangely feels almost worth it because of what has come to pass after it all. And all that weight, plus all the stress I'd been feeling has been lifted off my body instantaneously. I can only imagine Krissie must be feeling something similar. As the Boston baseball fanatic I am, the only thing I can compare this to is when the 2004 Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years and broke Babe Ruth's curse, and it felt like New Year's Day. But as much as I loved that moment, that was still just a baseball team. This is real life, my own real life. And while my wedding day or the eventual birth of a child may ultimately be the happiest day of my life, I may never again experience one moment where I go from uncertainty to pure euphoria quite like this. This might very well always be the single happiest moment of my life.

7:40 p.m. – We walk hand-in-hand back onto the concert lawn. I tell Krissie that the moral of this story is: If I ever tell you "let's go for a walk," you should probably listen.

Somehow watching Sister Hazel play "All For You" would seem anticlimactic, and right now both of us want to begin telling the world and celebrate. Krissie suggests that we just go home, and I agree. We begin packing up our chairs to leave. A blonde-haired girl (probably 25 years old or so) behind us says "How can you leave? You're going to miss Sister Hazel!!" I tell her we just got engaged. Krissie emphasizes that it happened just now.

The girl goes nuts, starts yelling out that we got engaged, jumps up and hugs us. She takes a picture of us with Krissie's camera, and the another with her own camera. Krissie is holding the ring up in the picture, and we both are smiling from ear to ear, still in our moment of exhilaration.

7:50 p.m. – We head back to the car and start making phone calls to family and friends. Everyone is ecstatic, especially Krissie's sister Karyn, whom I asked about ring size nine days ago and has kept quiet ever since. The line of the night is uttered by Karyn's eight-year-old son Matthew, who upon hearing the good news says "It's gonna be SO COOL to have an uncle who has a Wii!" I say Matthew will be able to play my video games plenty.

Everyone's reaction, excitement and happiness merely drives home to me the notion that if there were any doubt left, I have definitely made the right choice. This is a night I will always remember fondly and never regret. I love you, Krissie. I always will. And all I can do in the many years to come is to try my best to be the kind of man that you so richly deserve

Fall Loads of Love

This is a card I made almost a year ago using the "baby wipe" technique. I folder 4 or 5 baby wipes into a square and put them on a plate. Then, I dropped a few drops of each reinker color (Close to Cocoa, More Mustard, Old Olive and Really Rust) onto the baby wipe. I used the inked baby wipe as a "pad" and then stamped with the tree stamp from Loads of Love. The pumpkins came from Loads of Love Accessories.

I love the way the trees turned out. A great fall card! You could do the same thing at Valentine's Day with hearts in shades of red and pink...on 4th of July do stars of red and blue...turkey feathers in fall colors....fun, fun, fun!

Fall Frenzy....September Special!

From September 1-30, 2007, when you spend $30 on regular priced merchandise, you qualify to purchase six of this fall's hottest stamp sets at 30 percent off!* Click on the links to go directly to the catalog.

Choose from:

Item	Page Number	Description	Discounted Price
105355	26	Bitty Boos Too	$12.57
109284	29	Haunting Halloween	$13.27
107383	30	Thoroughly Thankful	$16.07
109373	108	Autumn Fest	$16.77
109421	91	Elementary Essentials	$19.57
110366	17	Stem Silhouettes**	$22.37

*Purchase one of the six sets for every $30 spent, two for every $60 spent, etc.
**Holiday Mini Collection 2007....available online Sept. 1st

Choose Your Family...color family, that is!

Between Grandma Louise (who drips with sweetness) and your oh-so-suave brother, Vic, you know that in life you can't choose your own family. But at Stampin' Up!, we've found a way to bend the rules so you can!

Purchase the Starter Kit between August 10 and September 30, and you'll get to pick the family of your choice-color family, that is-of Classic Stampin' Pads® FREE. That's a $57.95 value! And we've designed our exclusive coordinating color families (including our In Color collection) so that every color fits in. After all, it's all in the family!

*Sticky Special*

Since I'll be *sticky* in 90 degree Walt Disney World weather, you'll get to be *sticky* too! Place an order by email between Aug. 9-13th and get a free adhesive runner! Get a free adhesive with every $25 order. Check out my Stampin' Up! website below for details!

Adhesive Special

How do I use this thing?

As you have read, I am a *huge* fan of the Crop-a-Dile....did you get one yet? Don't throw away the cardboard backing, because it gives you all of the information you need on how to *set* it for different sizes of eyelets.

I found this great video on YouTube explaining how to use it. I hope you enjoy it!

Crop-a-Dile Tutorial

FREE Love Notes

Click on the photo to read about the August special! Contact me to place your order!