more happy news!!

After I got home from work and shoveled dinner down my throat, Greg asked what my plans were for the evening. "Nothing." "Well, I want to take you somewhere." Sometimes Greg just likes to surprise me, and I knew this was one of those times - no use asking where or why. So we ended up at a kitty shelter.

I'M GETTING 2 KITTENS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I have missed Cat so much... he was only 8 when he died this spring, and it was so unexpected, I wasn't prepared for that. And even now, sometimes I think I see a cat movement and I look for Cat. Cat was always nearby, underfoot more like LOL, a constant companion. Sometimes he'd tell me all about his day, and other times he was quiet. Sometimes he'd rub all over me, sometimes he'd want to play, and sometimes he just wanted to be nearby but NOT touched. But he always loved being around people, always wanted to know what was going on!

Greg had made many comments making me think that there was no way I could convince him to get another kitty. Apparently today he decided that it was the thing to do. Don't know why, probably will never know. Definitely NOT gonna argue!!! Another thing I've learned about Greg - if he makes a decision that I like, I gotta jump on it then and there, before he changes his mind. So I made sure that I filled out all the paperwork before we left the shelter just so he won't change his mind on this one!

The kitty shelter is one that doesn't euthanize, so some of their cats have been there a long time. It was kind of sad, but the cats didn't seem upset or sad. Most were very sociable. I walked in expecting Greg to only be interested in youngsters, but he walked around and petted just about every cat and kitten there. There was an adult he really seemed to like, but it still had its claws. Ok... don't throw the anti-declaw posts at me - Greg insists on declawed cats. And I would never even contemplate declawing an adult cat.

So after meeting all of the cats there, Greg and I ended up back at the little kitten cage. There were 4 kittens in it. This particular shelter requires that kittens be in a home with at least one other cat. Plus a lot of the siblings are required to go in pairs. So we were down to a big decision: two orange brothers or a black/white and tabby brother/sister combo. I think neither one of us really wanted another tabby again so soon - the little girl looked so much like Cat - even tho they were super friendly and energetic. So we opted for the orange kitties!! They're pretty laidback, very sweet, little purring motors.

Another shelter requirement - after you file for adoption, there is a "cool-off" period of at least 3 days. Some folks make a spur of the moment decision and then regret it quickly. And the shelter is only open certain days. So Greg and I won't get new kitties until next week. But on our way home, we bought the stuff we need so we'll be all ready for them when they get here.

I can't wait!! My little babies are so cute!

more blog world fun

JANUARY
1. Did you have a new year's resolution this year? No
2. Who kissed you at midnight? Greg. We were in North Carolina - we attended a cool outdoor party in downtown Charlotte.
3. Did it snow where you live? Not sure if it snowed on NY day, but I'm sure it snowed sometime in January - it would be very unusual to not get snow in Wisconsin in the winter.
4. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? No
5. Big January Events: We visited North Carolina to see if it was a feasible location to move to. We had a couple realtors check out our current home. And I went to a couple weekend crops (scrapbooking).
FEBRUARY
1. Who was your valentine? Greg, of course.
2. What did your valentine get you? A card... ??? We generally don't celebrate days like that.
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Oh, yes. Those little tiny cards, and I think I put the little heart candies in each envelope.
4. Big February Events: Mexican Riviera cruise on the Carnival Pride!! And a weekend skiing in the U.P.
MARCH
1. Are you Irish? not that I know of.
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day? I usually do, just for fun, but I don't think I remembered this year!
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day? nada
4. Big March Events: A weekend in the Dells for our bike club's winter getaway, and a weekend in Madison for a scrapbook convention.
APRIL
1. Do you like the rain? As my close friends know, I hate getting my face wet. So I'm not fond of being out in the rain, but I don't mind when I'm snuggled in the house. I actually love to watch a big storm roll in!
2. Did you play an April Fool's joke on anyone this year? no
3. Big April Events: two more weekend crops (yahoo!) and a friend's wedding
MAY
1. What's your favorite kind of flower? Love the smell of lilacs!
2. Do you like the spring? YES - summer is on the way!! And I like the smell of spring, and the warm breeze, and sunshine on my face.
3. What would you think of as a spring color? yellow, pretty much any pastel
4. Big May Events: I started playing volleyball weekly again, after a hiatus to improve my back. We also got the bike (motorcycle) out more often for longer rides, including a long weekend in northern Wisconsin. And I registered for CKU - I got all the classes I wanted!!!
JUNE
1. What year did you graduate from school? H.S. - 1985, Undergrad - 1989, Masters - 1994
2. Did you go on a vacation last June? no - we don't have to take vacations around school, since we are child free!
3. Big June Events: My CKU yahoo board logo was chosen as the winning entry! - the crazy scrappin' gals bought all sorts of things with my logo on them: shirts, mousepads, clocks, pins, magnets, mugs, bracelet charms, etc. Also - I started at a new client - a change of pace.
JULY
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? We took another weekend bike trip to northern Wis and to Door County.
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month? see #1
3. Big July Events: Summerfest and getting ready to attend CKU.
AUGUST
1. Did you do anything special to end your summer? just the usual ;-)
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05? CKU Provo - OMG what a phenomenal time, great memories!!! Absolute best? - our CKU dorm was one of 3 chosen to perform in front of the entire student/teacher body - and based on audience applause we won hands down - we rocked the place!
3. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer? no
4. Big August Events: Obviously - CKU. Also a weekend bike club trip to Munising U.P. Michigan. Oh, yeah, and state fair and Renaissance Faire.
SEPTEMBER
1. Did you attend school/college in '05? no
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher? probably my 2nd grade teacher.
3. Did you like fall better than summer? NO - it means winter's back on its way
4. Big September Events: Our big 2 week bike trip out west: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, etc. We celebrated our 11th anniversary on the 24th.
OCTOBER
1. What was your favorite halloween costume ever? Boy George - I looked AWESOME!!
2. What's your favorite candy? I love chocolate in general, but I really love Skor bars.
3. What did you dress up like this year? I didn't.
4. Big October Events: Another weekend crop. Seeing cousin Tom Wopat perform in Madison - added bonus: it was Halloween weekend, and State St, Madison is absolutely crazy, fun to watch!
NOVEMBER
1. Whose house did you go to for Thanksgiving? My sister Bonnie's.
2. Do you like stuffing? yes, if it's moist. Sometimes it's dry - yuck.
3. What are you thankful for? Husband, family, friends, relatively good health, financial stability, ability to do what I/we enjoy.
4. Big November Events: Our bike club's annual fundraiser - this year we tried something new - a murder mystery lunch - Greg and I both had parts, and I had a BLAST!!
DECEMBER
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? yes, but not so much the religious aspects. It's more of a celebration of family and friends, and of course giving and receiving!
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? yes
3. Do you like cold weather? NO NO NO
4. How would you rate your year on a scale of 1-10? 9.5
5. Big December Events: holiday party at our house, another weekend crop, family get-togethers. Lucky Greg went to Vail skiing!

Emily - you've been tagged!

layouts of our 2005

Mexican Riviera cruise. We spent one night on the Hotel Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA and then we left for a 7 night cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. The ports provided nice variety, but the weather was too chilly for sunning onboard. Bummer!

see??? I do scrap

once in a while... Actually, these are some of the pages I have done the last couple of months. I haven't figured out how to take good photos of my layouts yet, so I procrastinate on posting pictures. These are miscellaneous pages: the intro to the 2004 album and a volleyball team page.

The 2004 intro page was mostly done electronically. I found a monopoly board jpg online that didn't have the text in the play squares. I added text and pictures so that if you start at GO and go around, it follows the highlights of 2004 in chronological order. I think my favorite play square is the one that is supposed to be jail - I labeled it "work work work work." LOL After printing the board on a large format printer (thanks Annie!) I just adhered it to black cardstock, added the stickers at the top, and adhered multiple orange and yellow cards stacked up to give depth.

The volleyball page is from a few years ago - I'm trying to finish up that last one or two pages in each album that I hadn't done yet. This is a 12 x 12 page, yet I printed directly on the background with my normal size printer. heeheehee No, ain't gonna tell ya how - if you can't figure it out, well... my secret! I've never been into circles before, but I thought it fit the theme of the page. And I think it looks kewl!

love my picture

that I currently have here on my blog. It makes me think of summer, warm(er) days, sunshine.... I'm already tired of winter and it's not even the middle of December yet!!!!!

happy marcia

I keep thinking... "I gotta get back to my blog." "I should take pictures of some of my latest scrap projects and post them." Etc., etc. But it just doesn't seem to happen.

But tonight I'm bursting with happy news. Ok, it's great happiness for me. I'm all registered for CKU-Albums Chicago. WOOHOO!!!! Now.... I can see y'all asking "what's that?" and "what's the big deal?" Well... let me tell ya.

CKU = Creating Keepsakes University. In basic terms, it's scrapbook school. Three solid days and nights of classes and working on projects. You ask, "And this is fun?" Oh, yeah, baby. This is WAY fun!! Learning new techniques, working with new product, being with 700 people who are as crazy about scrapbooking as I am, meeting some of the celebs of the scrapbook world. Yes - we have celebs that we "know" by first name or by initials. That's how you can tell a serious scrapper from a beginner - talk about BH or Lisa or CZ - if they know who you're talking about, they're definitely seriously into scrapping! {oops - got a little sidetracked there....}

Why the big deal?? Registration opened at 7pm CST tonight. 18 minutes later, registration closed. Finis. The end. No more. Within 18 minutes, approximately 700 crazy scrappers registered for CKU Chicago. Yowza - that's the quickest sellout yet for CKU. We get to choose classes - I managed to get into every class I want at the time I wanted it. That's pretty amazing. However, I was done registering by 7:02 - I was speedy gonzalez! The more popular classes started closing after about 4 minutes because they were already full. It's completely overwhelming when I think about more than 700 people, all sitting at their computers, hitting the F5 key over and over and over until the registration button shows up, then typing like mad to get paid and get their classes asap. I know I was very very anxious, nervous. And now I'm in. Yahoo!!!

This will be my second CKU - I went to Provo this past August and had an absolute blast! I originally thought that I'd just goto one, and that would be enough. But it's coming to Chicago! - how can I not go when it's so close?!

One of the most fun parts of CKU is the social life. And I was VERY into the social life at Provo. I was part of a dorm, a group of 10 women who participated in the dorm contests: cheer/song, costume, name badge and table centerpiece. Dorms are totally voluntary and arranged on your own - not thru CKU. We were the Scrappin' Biker Babes - and quite awesome SBBs we were! Only three dorms are chosen ahead of time to perform at CKU, and we were one of the three! and even better, we easily won the cheer/song contest! We rocked the room that night. It was great because people recognized us for the remainder of CKU - "hey, you're one of the biker babes, aren't you". Yeah, baby. I'm a scrappin' biker babe. The only sad part for me is that I wasn't really in a costume - I was pretty much in my normal biking gear! LOL

So anyway, 5 of our 10 SBBs are going to Chicago, and we'll be doing a dorm again. It'll be fun to see what theme we come up with, and how we work the theme into all of our contest entries. And I just can't wait to see my dormies again!

oh so busy

We (ok, I) decided rather last minute to have a holiday party this weekend. Invites went out with less than 2 week notice. I've been a bit rushed this week - had to decorate, plan the menu and shopping list, and shop. Now I still need to clean and cook. Not that bad, I guess. Of course my tendency to procrastinate isn't helping! But I'm looking forward to tomorrow, to see some good friends. We don't have people over nearly as much as I would like.

Hmmmm... am I seeing a "New Years Intention"? btw - a nicer term for NYs resolution is NYs intention. Doesn't it sound better? Less like "I have to" and more like "I want to" - the difference between resolve and intend. Anyway, perhaps my NYs Intention should be to invite people over more often...

well... enough time spent at the computer. Off for party prep!