no excuses...recap of summer

Yes, yes...I know, I have been MIA for way too long!  No excuses, just a quick apology for being OBE (that's Navy slang for "overcome by events") but I am back for another go at blogging!  Because I am sure you are all just dying to know...here is a quick recap of my summer!

Busy, busy, busy just about covers it!  Our oldest son and his lovely bride were in town visiting from Japan for a little while in early to mid-July,  Bless their hearts, they made a little "sidetrip" to visit my folks in SE Ohio and gave me their blessing to sneak off to Salt Lake City on a "business trip" while they were in Ohio.  Visits with family are always over far too quickly but we squeezed in a lot of fun.  Before they left, we were able to get the whole gang together for at least one dinner and a rare "photo op".  Here's the pic of our original  brood plus our two lovely daughters-in-law (added to the group about this same time last summer).   Can you say, "Christmas card photo"???  You betcha!

In addition to the great family time, I sneaked in a trip to Salt Lake City for the 2011 Stampin' Up! convention! That is always one of the highlights of my summer and I am so happy that I was able to make it this year!  I didn't do much swapping but had a few cards to trade and enjoyed a great whirlwind week with my stamping friends enjoying all of the new Stampin' Up! goodies in the new catalogue, sharing the energy with thousands of other demonstrators and getting so many wondeful ideas from the great folks at SU.  This is a picture of the stage at convention just to give you an idea of the fun we shared.

In August, my husband, my youngest son and his charming girlfriend made the drive from St. Louis to Florida for an end of summer vacation.  The kids took in a couple of days of Disney World plus a bit of sunshine and shopping while my husband played golf and I found some time to hang out with some local stamping buddies.   It's all good when it comes to stamping, right?  On the way home we spent the night in Marrietta, GA and by chance visited a very interesting local place called The Marrietta Diner. This interesting dining establishment has been featured on the Food Network from time to time and oh my goodness, what a place!  Check out the bakery case  with "mile high" desserts and the interesting outdoor decor of this fun diner.  If you are ever in that area, be sure to stop in for  a visit but be prepared for a bit of a wait. 

And finally, the stamping you've all been waiting for....this is a card specially designed for my  Customer Appreciation  Open House in July, using "My Friend", a fresh set from the new Stampin' Up! catalogue. I love the color combo of Old Olive and Blushing Bride.

I took the leftovers from my open house and worked on them on the plane, in the airport and in my hotel room at convention....stamping swap cards definitely got some looks from non-stampers in the Phoenix airport during my layover there but demonstrators traveling to Salt Lake City for convention easily found each other that way.,,,and yes, many of us swapped on the plane!  One older gentleman  stared at us with great fascination for a while before he finally gave up and asked that burning question, "WHAT are you people doing???"   We told him we were making samples of hand stamped greeting cards to share at convention.  He thought about it for a while, then asked why we didn't just get a machine to do the stamping.  He definitely didn't "get it" but at least watching the process gave him something to do at the airport!  Many thanks to my convention roomie and SU "upline" Patti who helped me complete the remainder of my swap cards in our hotel room.  I am already looking forward to the next SU event!