CHA....let's re-cap.

I slept in my own bed last night, and even though it is still a piece of crap, I slept like the dead--cause it is my own bed. Shared my hotel bed with Ashley Gailey, and she really wanted me to spoon with her...so I was nervous all night. (Hee, hee) Sam will be happy to note that I guess I *do* snore. But only a little. I came prepared. I brought all the girls earplugs...just in case.

I came home to a huge mess. The roof is coming off tomorrow. All of the electrical is pulled, which means we have no lights downstairs, no stove, dishwasher or washer and dryer. I am not sad. As long as I have a fridge with cold Mountain Dew, everything will be okay. I am a little bummed that I have no microwave for my Hot Pockets... I took all of my cool clothes to CHA, so I might have to bust over to the neighbors and throw some laundry in. Maybe not, though, cause my pj pants are clean--got plenty of those babies.

No light in the upstairs bathroom either, they are somehow connected with the electrical downstairs, although maybe Sam just rigged it that way. Showering in the dark might be romantic...no distracting soap scum or cellulite...

Back to CHA:

Started actually before official CHA, with us flying out…luckily (or unluckily) we missed the whole, re-routing/canceling of the flights due to the electrical storms in Chicago. I hate to fly. I hate being folded up into tiny spaces. My carry-on bag was at my feet, and it tipped over. Things fell out, and I couldn’t even maneuver enough to pick them up until the plane landed and I could stick my heinie out in the aisle to look under the seat. It was hot, and somehow that pinhole air vent wasn’t cutting it. Not to mention that I felt obligated to hold *it* until my bladder nearly burst, cause I didn’t want my seat partners to physically relocate for me to be able to stand in line to use the half-sized port-a-potty. I am so grateful I didn’t have to sneeze…

The first day, set-up day. How does that *not* suck. We were all tired and hungry and hot. Our hotel was in another zip code, and Jason (the owner of the company I went with) kept leaving everything back at the hotel, including the instructions for the new booth. Since Jason is one of our regular readers, I am not going to say anything but, dude--when you told us to meet you in the lobby at 8:30, and Kristy called you in your room at 8:45--we totally know that we woke you up. ( ;) )

We had a class the next morning at 8 bells, and Ursula, the other teacher's flight got re-routed. Poor Kristy, who has never taught, had to fill in. We had no class samples--those had to be mocked up in the hotel room at 1:30 am. We were a tad late to class, but everything went well, and I think the ladies liked it.

Day two I worked the crowd at the Karen Foster booth. It was all good, I was right under a ceiling fan. That rocked. I was nice and cool, and I am pretty sure that it blew my hair back, and made me look a little like a supah model.

The rest of the trip was a blur...full of meeting my online peeps, and laughing, and pimping out product. The pea dinner was awesome. Mostly cause I won a major prize. Stemma paper--8 lines, 25 sheets per pack, and everyone wants to be my friend now. HA! Very cool stuff. I hope I get it soon, the airline lost that bag.

Some highlights:

Giordano's Pizza. Seriously. I am not a pizza connoisseur, truth be told, I have been know to eat Totino's or Jeno's frozen grocery store crap on occasion which tells you, I could have eaten the cardboard box this pizza came in, and been happy. But oh mama. The thick chewy cheese, the crispy pastry crust... I get the hype now. I will never be the same person again.

We ended up one night at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert only. This place is a big deal to us Utahns. We don't have one remotely close. I think California is the closest. So that is why I was snapping pictures Alissa. Don't keep giving me those youareacrazylady looks. Godiva cheesecake. Its really the only reason I go to these shows once a month, and that is about how long it takes me to burn it off of my hips.

Met some classy scrapping celebs. Those girls are in the place they are in not out of luck, or who they know--but because they deserve it. Not only for their talent, but for their graciousness, and humility. Cameras in the face, crazy stalkers sporting tee-shirts sporting the celebs name...things that the average person would carry mace for, and these girls are so good about it. A great lesson learned. Cool is cool. I don't think I could be cool.

This is my 12th, and final show for a while. It is bittersweet. I have always looked at the whole show experience like a travelling circus. It is the same people every time. Lance from the pickle--who it like an annoying big brother...Sid from SEI, the pod-father..Suzy West, the bubbly, huggy girl--the Junkitz girls, my Cactus Pink peeps--it is always the same people. We all borrow packing tape, swap product, put our feet up in the airport and share stories. I will miss that. To walk the floor and recognize most of the kids on the display layouts as the kids of my friends. To see my own work on display, and people taking photos of it, that is gratifying. I will miss that too.

But last night when my plane came in, I stood back and scanned the crowd. I saw five little tow-heads desperately searching a sea of faces for me. And their little faces lit up when we finally locked eyes. My daugher has the same now sagging pig-tails that I pulled her hair up in the day I left. I know where I need to be right now. I am good with that.

Welcome home.