Moving in

Friday at 4pm I finally got my call to come and get my keys.. I was so excited .. We headed for the condo with a truck and a car loaded. I was so glad that I had my sister Judy and her husband Jim with me. We fit all the totes and boxes into the condo and Jim started to hang the rod for my drapes on the arcadia door. Judy and I un-packed and stocked the kitchen.. We worked until about 8pm and then headed home. Stopped at Desert Ridge and got a cool drink and sat around the fountains and relaxed. It is really beautiful there and the weather was beautiful. Saturday we loaded up the truck and my SUV again and had another day of unpacking. Jim started to install the ceiling fan in the living room, while Judy and I finished the kitchen. We went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner that night and then walked around Kierland Commons after dinner. Sunday, Judy and Jim had appointments and obligations at their rental properties, so I stayed home and packed many, many boxes.

This morning Judy and Jim left..so sad.. Love having them here.. I headed for the condo around 9am with a car full. Jason met me there and finished installing all the ceiling fans. Steve and I went out to get me a new TV..(my other one in the living room is dying). Found a great deal and I'm ready for hook up tomorrow. I have the window treatment guys coming to install all my blinds, the cox guys coming for phone, cable & Internet. Then in the afternoon I have security coming to install my system.. More tomorrow..

Excited

I just love the books published by Compendium they are inspirational and up-lifting. I was looking for a quote to describe how I felt today and this is it:

The minute you begin

to do what you really

want to do.

it's really

a different kind of life.

I am waiting for the phone call from the condo office to come get my "keys".. I have signed all the papers, wired my down payment and had my final walk through of the condo. "I AM READY TO MOVE IN".

Judy's husband Jim arrives from Idaho today and we want to be able to get in so he can help with the heavy lifting and hanging up drapery rods and shelves and all the manly things.. I love having Judy and Jim here, we have so much fun together and always stay BUSY..

I'll keep you up to date on my move in.. along with plenty of pictures I'm sure.

Balloons to Heaven

Judy and I had a fun day on Sunday, we ran some errands and then went to see Tyler Perry's movie "Why Did I Get Married. Good values in the movie and really laugh out loud funny..

We stopped at Party City & picked up 24 white helium balloons & they filled the back of my car, then headed for a family party at Steve and Karen's house. We were celebrating Tylers' 5th birthday and also sending letters to Grampa Harper in heaven (via white balloons).

The first time we sent white balloons with letters to heaven was the weekend after Kent passed away and each year on the closest Sunday to October 19th we repeat the tradition. We have all the grandkids write a letter to their grampa and share with him the highlights in their lives over the past year and any thing else they want to tell him. Each of the grandkids was so excited to finish their letter and tie it on to the balloon so we could go into the back yard and let them go to heaven. Marissa who is in college at BYU, in Provo e-mailed her letter to Grampa Harper so she would still be a part of this special tradition. It was a really windy day and the balloons really went up FAST..

Tyler was so excited to open his presents and have his birthday cake.. He is my youngest grandchild and turned 5 on the 19th. He just loves everything he opens and it is so fun to see his excitement. I got him 3 new shirts and he wanted to change as soon as he opened them to put on the new one.

It was a fun evening with all the kids and grand kids and then when Judy and I got home she helped me cut out all the special things for my coaster card class this week at Mad Scrappers. We finally got to bed around midnight.. Fun Day..

Good Saturday Morning

What a beautiful day it is in Phoenix, temp in the low 80's and a bright blue sky. Judy and I are on our way to visit the girls at Williams Sonoma and then do some shopping and lunch and a movie later. I need her help in picking out my new ceiling fans and some other needs for the condo.

Last night we were part of the fundraiser put on for Lynn & Tracy Armstrong. It was organized by Kristan, and Carol Hill and Ann Scott. They did a great job, we had an open scrapbook crop from noon to 5 and then Lance Anderson of Rusty Pickle taught a class. We then were treated to a catered dinner from Manuel's (Tracey's favorite restaurant in Phoenix). After dinner Lance taught another class. They had a silent auction and a raffle along with the classes. It was a wonderful event for a very courageous family. We were all so proud to be a part of such a great service project. Thanks girls for all your hard work.. It turned out great. For anyone who doesn't know the story of Tracy Armstrong here is the link to his blog.. Your heart will be touched by this story I'm sure. Please keep them in your prayers.

Toes

Need I say more....

Here We Go

Yesterday I picked Judy up at the Phoenix airport at 1:40 and we have been on the go ever since.. We stopped for lunch at Rubios (one of our favorites) for a chopped chicken salad and then home to put her things away. Last night I had another card class, so on the way to the store we stopped by the condo.. It is all finished.. I can't go inside until next week when I have my final walk through.. But we looked through the windows and the carpet looks great. Today we start our movie-thon.. we love to go to movies when we are together and tonight we are going to see a special screening of "Martian Child" with Amanda Peet & John Cusack..



This morning we are getting pedicures and then off to SAS to get buttons and ribbons, such a fun place. We have so much fun together , lunch out, movies and shopping.. SO HERE WE GO ..we only have 10days together so we have to make every minute count.. TTYL

It's Wednesday and today Judy arrives

Good morning, I am on my way to Mad Scrappers to teach my morning card class and then I head for the airport to pick up my sister Judy. She lives in northern Idaho and is coming down to the sunny climate of Phoenix for 10 days of fun..shopping, lunches out & movies.. Our favorite things to do.
My vinyl word plaque class was great last night. I had everyone painting and sanding and then applying their vinyl words on their plaques..They all turned out wonderful.. Great time.
I'll let you know which movies we see and how they were.. Our favorite thing is going to a noon movie and having popcorn for lunch..
Have a great day..

CKU Orlando

Kristan and I arrived back in Phoenix this afternoon after a fantastic CKU in Orlando. We have so much fun at these events. Made so many new friends, met old friends, taught, learned and shared ideas. I am including some pictures from Friday & Saturday. Friday was the album track and we had 8 hours to create the albums and work with these wonderful ladies.. We had a group from Puerto Rico and trio from Venezuela and several from Brazil and many from the southern states of Florida, Texas, Georgia and all over.

Friday night we were in charge of a game at the crop of 600 ladies. We played a game and asked 12 questions, the first 12 ladies who could run to the stage and answer the questions right were given a packet of the new Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess papers and had 45 minutes to create a costume out of the papers only using adhesive, 1 yard of ribbon and bling.. the results were amazing and we had the audience vote by clapping who they wanted to win.. It was so fun, I have not seen so many women run so fat to answer a question.. It was a great event.. I have included the contestant's and the winning table.. On Saturday Kristan taught 4 mini book classes and so many of the people in our album track took those classes too. I just want to thank all the wonderful staff of CKU for putting on a great event and can't wait for the next one. Those of you in my classes at Mad Scrapper know Rubby.. She used to take the classes and then moved to Texas.. She was at CKU and it was so fun to have her there..

Glad to be home..I have a busy week: tomorrow I work at WS and then on Tuesday I have the vinyl words on wood class at Relief Society and then on Weds. I have my 2 card classes and my sister Judy arrives in the afternoon, between my classes.. So I'm going to have a fun, busy week. Plus I start to pack to move into my condo on the 26th!!!!!!! YEAH.. Can't get any better than this..

News from CKU Orlando

Kristan and I are having a great time in Orlando.. Today was the product demonstration day. The ballroom is setup with 24 stations and each participant of CKU rotates thru the stations making 6x6 pages while learning new techniques and using new products.

Since we are in Orlando the ceremonies have a Disney World Flavor..The teachers were introduced to the Mickey Mouse Club Theme song...

Kristan with Stacy Croniger and Margie Romney.. Such cute girls..

Tomorrow we have our Rusty Pickle Album track; it is an all day class and the albums are fantastic.. It is really a fun day for all. Well I didn't get much sleep last night so it is time to hit the sheets.. Good night from Orlando

Last minute details

You know how it is the day before you leave to go on a trip.. Clean, mop, dust straighten and organize.. as well as pack and make sure the garbage disposal has run.. that is my mode this morning.. I just talked to my new realtor and I must tell you ..he is on the ball.. really pleased with my decision.. I need to leave my house ready to show since I won't be around to do any last minute things.
I am excited to get to Orlando, I really do love it there, it is so green and lush. and everyone at CKU is so fun to be with. It is fun to walking down a hall and have someone call my name.. New friends and lots of old ones..
We get home on Sunday afternoon and then I have to get all my last minute details finished for my class at church on Tuesday night. We are making the vinyl words on wood plaques.. I have 21 signed up for my class. Then Weds. are my Advanced Card Classes at Mad Scrappers. one in the morning at 10:30 and then I go to the airport to pick up my sister Judy..who's is coming for a visit and help me get things ready for my move in to the condo..yeah, we have so much fun together, lunch, movies, shop and just have a great time together. Then on Weds. evening I have another card class.. WHEW...
But I love it and love keeping busy doing good things..
I'm off to run errands and take one final peek at the condo.. I'll send you some pictures from our trip.

Monday - Monday

What beautiful weather we are having in Phoenix, if you all were here today you would want to move here..I have been able to turn off my air conditioner for the last few days..YEAH.

I had a great weekend and spent most of it at home. Saturday morning I worked at WS and then came home and watched General Conference and worked on class samples,, In the evening I rolled my big green dumpster into the back yard and filled it with weeds, trimmings and clippings.. Yesterday was a quiet day at my house ,, 2 sessions of conference and working on my samples. Last night I watched the movie the Illusionist, great movie..

This morning I am on my way to work at WS and then come home and start to get organized to head to CKU Orlando to work for Rusty Pickle. I travel with my daughter Kristan (a designer for Rusty Pickle). She is an awesome teacher and we really do have so much fun on these trips.

We leave on Weds. and return on Sunday. Here are some pictures of the Wyndham Resort we are staying at: Can't wait.. Hope to see you there..

Have a great day... Talk to you soon..

Christmas Card Class

I will be teaching the Christmas Card Class at Mad Scrappers on Wednesday November 7th at 6:30 in the evening.. The cards above are the preliminary drafts of the ones we will be doing. We will be using the darling new Line from Imaginesce called Candy Cane Lane. I am still tweeking the cards so some of them may be a little different, but you can get the idea..

A Fun Thursday Morning

This morning i went to the Mesa Cannery with Charlotte Mosley and Donna Zollinger to participate in a service project for a few hours. We canned dried apples and hot cocoa mix in #10 cans. I was on the table that placed the labels on the apples after they were sealed in the cans. We canned 460 cans of apples and 263 cans of hot cocoa in just over 1 hour. There were about 30 people there and we really had a great system going and it went so fast. What a fun way to give a little service.

On the way home from Mesa we stopped by the condo and wow it is almost finished. We were walking through the rooms and a couple are really dark, with no windows.. The man who was doing touch up paint came into one of the rooms and turned on the light! wow that really made a difference.

This afternoon I am signing with a new real estate company to sell my current house. I just felt it was time for a change, since in the 5 months it had been on the market I hod only one person walk through my home and not from the agency that had it listed. I am now with a national company and excited about all the plans they have for marketing my home.

I have been putting together my kits for the up-coming classes I have in Oct. and Nov. Since I will be in the process of moving I want to get as much completed as possible. I'll share them later today.

All in all it has been a great day today..

Creative Escape Evening

Last night all the volunteers and teachers from Creative Escape were invited to attend a thank you dinner at Bazzill. There new warehouse is 66,000 sq. feet and really neat. We were given a tour of the warehouse from Doug (Mr. Bazzill), he showed us the large machines that cut the huge stacks of paper and then move to the machine that count them into stacks of 50 and then shrink wrap and stack them. It is amazing.. really high tech. We then a great dinner that was a Mexican buffet and really good. The Bazzill employees had the tables and buffet all decorated in fall pumpkins and fall foliage. It was beautiful. The really neat thing was that Bazzill gave us two boxes the size of large pizza boxes and let us shop in the warehouse to fill the boxes.. We just had to make sure the boxes would close. Then before we left they gave us gift bundles of Creative Escape mdse. All in all, they treated the teachers and volunteers like royalty and we are looking forward to next year. This was a upscale event from beginning to end.
I have been working on creating my samples for the up-coming classes I have scheduled in October and November.. I only work at WS on Saturday morning this week.
Met with a new real estate agent today. I felt it was time to change and put a new company in charge of selling my home. I was very impressed with him and his ideas on marketing my home. The phone call to my current agent was really hard, since she is a friend and I really hope she understands that I needed to make a change since there was no action or real marketing of my home under the current agent. not a fun day, but hopefully this action will be a positive move on my part.. My new agent is such a go getter and really moving fast to get things rolling. Going out to visit the condo tomorrow and will take pictures of any up-dates to pass on..